Snow Day In
by jentivadiva09
Summary: Originally a oneshot but now a story about the adventures in parenthood for Tony, Ziva, and their daughter Isabella. Family and team fluff with some angst in later chapters. Remember to R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Inspired by this crazy winter storm that left me cooped up in my house for 3 days! For now it's a oneshot but I don't know we'll see how people take to the story. R&R! :] **

**Disclaimer: Yea yea we all know I don't own NCIS and any of its characters. Trust me if I did, Tiva would've been a couple a looooong time ago. Isabella and Nahla are mine though :]**

It had already been 3 days since the massive winter storm had hit Washington D.C., and many of the cities' schools, businesses, and agencies had been shut down since then, including NCIS and the private school that Isabella Noel DiNozzo attended. For three days Tony, Ziva, and Isabella had nothing to do but stay inside. Nearly a foot of snow had fallen nonstop, and the temperatures had hit record lows.

Now Isabella sat on top of her bed in her room, bored as can be. The family dog, Nahla-named after Simba's best friend from the Lion King-a beautiful full bred Husky with blue eyes, sprawled herself across the bed as well, taking up most of the room.

"Nahla, I'm really, really, bored," Isabella stated. Nahla perked her head up and stared into Isabella's emerald green eyes with impossibly long, dark, curly eyelashes. "I thought snow days were supposed to be fun, but all I've done is watch movies with Daddy. I'm tired of James Bond. I wanna snowball fight!" Nahla tilted her head slightly as if trying to understand what the little girl was saying. "Come on, let's get ready." Isabella jumped off her bed and went to her closet to start putting on her snow clothes. By the time she went downstairs to her snow coat and snow boots from the coat closet, she was all set. Ziva, who was in the kitchen making lunch, spotted her first while Tony dozed on the couch in the den.

"Isabella Noel, where are you going?" Ziva asked calmly.

"Outside to have a snowball fight."

"Who are you going to have a snowball fight with?"

"Nahla," Isabella said smiling. "Nahla get down here, time to go outside!" Nahla came bounding down the stairs, her tail wagging and barking excitedly.

"Sssshhhh Nahla some people are trying to sleep here," Tony said groggily from the couch. Ziva giggled. "Bella it is way too cold outside still and I do not want you to catch a chill." Ziva said sternly. "Cold Mama," Isabella said. "Yes, I know it is cold that is why I do not want you going outside still." "No Mama," Isabella said laughing. She always found her mothers' absentmindedness at American idioms hilarious. "It's catch a COLD not catch a chill." Ziva rolled her eyes playfully. '_She is her father's daughter,'_ she thought.

"Aw come on Zee-vah we've been cooped up in this house for days. Let's go outside and make a snowman!" Tony had now gotten up from the couch and gone to the closet to start putting on his snow gear.

"Please Mama pleaaaaaaaaase?" Isabella pleaded wrapping herself around Ziva's left leg. "Yea Mom, please can we go pleaaaaaaaaase?" Tony had now kneeled down so he was short enough to wrap himself around Ziva's waist, nearly knocking all three of them over in the process. Nahla even joined in on the fun, jumping up on Ziva licking her face excitedly. Being trapped by her fiancé, daughter, and dog, Ziva finally gave in. "All right, all right, we can go have a snow war or whatever you call it." "Yay! Thank you Mama!" Isabella said, her long sandy brown curls bouncing with joy. She ran back to the closet and proceeded to put on her snow boots and snow coat with her extra pair of gloves.

"Come on Ziva, let's go outside and have some fun! I know you're going crazy being in this house all day just as much as I am." Tony said wrapping his arms around Ziva's waist so his face was only inches away from hers. "Tony I have not even finished cooking yet," Ziva started to say. "Eh, the cooking can wait, let's go freaking play!" Ziva sighed defeatedly. "You know sometimes I swear I have two seven year olds instead of one." "We love you too," Tony replied sporting his famous DiNozzo grin. He placed a great big kiss on Ziva's lips and threw her over his shoulder making her squeal in surprise.

"Tony what are you doing?" she asked in between laughs.

"We're going outside! It's snow time!"

"Well, I need to at least put my proper snow stuff on, unless you want me to freeze."

"Fine, fine, but hurry Bella and Nahla are already beating us!" He set Ziva down and raced out the front door to see Nahla chasing Isabella playfully and rolling around in the snow, happy as can be. "Snowball time!" Tony yelled grabbing Isabella from behind and throwing her over his shoulder. She giggled and screamed with delight as Tony ran around their snow filled front yard in circles, Nahla following behind them barking happily. Finally he set her down.

"That was fun Daddy! Is Mama coming out to play with us too?"

"Yeah, she's just getting changed," Tony said wiping a curl out of Isabella's face. "But in the meantime, we can do his," he said gathering a little handful of snow and throwing it in the air. Bella gasped and then laughed running behind a bush to take cover. "War has been declared!" she shouted. She then carefully gathered up a handful of snow and made a nice, tight little snowball. She stuck her head out from behind the bush and saw Tony trying to make the biggest snowball he could. She gave a sly grin, took aim, and threw the little snowball with all her might. It landed perfectly, right smack on the side of Tony's head, causing him to lose his footing and fall over. Isabella came out from the behind the bush and nearly toppled over from laughing so hard.

"You threw that Bella?" Tony asked. She nodded happily showing off a smirk almost identical to Ziva's. '_Yup, she is definitely Ziva's little ninja of a daughter. My aim isn't even that good!' _

"Good job Bella, you got it on the first one," Ziva said laughing as she came outside finally dressed in her proper attire.

"Oh really Miss David," Tony said slyly making another snowball, his eyes never leaving Ziva's.

Ziva took cover behind the bush with Isabella whispering something in her little ear that made them both giggle.

"Hey no fair, how come I don't get a partner?" Tony asked.

"Girls against boys Daddy!"

"Well at least let me have Nahla or something!"

"Nahla's a girl too Dad," Isabella giggled.

"Fine it's o, I don't need a partner anyway. I'll beat you both all by myself. Just watch."

While Tony gave his little speech, Ziva and Isabella were busily making snowballs. Now they waited for the perfect moment.

"Oh yea Mr. DiNozzo will have the sweet taste of victory today! Did I ever tell you I was the master at snowball fight wars back in high school and college?" Tony continued to gloat while Ziva had already devised a plan. She and Bella had both grabbed a snowball and waited for the perfect moment.

"Ok Bella, on three," Ziva whispered. Bella nodded her head excitedly. "One…two…THREE!"

Bella and Ziva started throwing snowballs ferociously at Tony not even giving him a chance to retaliate. The snow wars went on until he finally waved an imaginary white flag, signaling his surrender. His two ninja's had defeated him, fair and square.

"Let's build a snowman now!" Isabella said excitedly.

"Now that I can say for a fact, I am an expert in." Tony stated matter of factly. Ziva laughed and then started helping Bella roll one of their extra snowballs into a bigger ball. "I got the bottom ball!" Tony shouted. About half an hour later, an almost complete snowman stood on their front lawn.

"He needs a face and arms now." Isabella said. She gathered up some stray rocks and placed them on the top ball so the snowman had a cute lop-sided smile, a nose, and eyes.

"Hmm, I think he is missing something," Ziva said tapping her chin.

"Arms!" Isabella said opening her arms as wide she could.

"Of course! We can't have a snowman an armless snowman!" Tony said overdramatically.

"Well, those branches from the tree are pretty loose." Ziva said.

"Well I'm tall, but not that tall so Bella's gonna help me out." Tony said.

Isabella giggled while Tony kneeled down so she could climb on his shoulders. Ziva instinctively stood behind them and had one hand on Bella's back and the other on Tony's…just in case.

Isabella grunted and groaned and stretched her arms out as far as she could but the tree was still too high. "Jump Daddy I still can't reach!" Tony jumped but with the extra weight on his shoulders, he lost his balance.

"Whoooooa!" "Aaaahhh!" "Bella, Tony!"

Ziva grabbed onto Tony's side to try and balance him out but instead caused all three of them to fall into the snow. They stood quiet for a couple seconds then burst out laughing. Nahla worriedly came running to their aid and started sniffing and licking away at them all.

"Are you ok Bella?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah, I landed on top of Daddy," Bella said brushing the snow off her coat.

"Are you ok Tony?"

"Oh me? I'm fine. The freezing cold snow broke my fall."

Ziva smirked and helped Tony to his feet. "I think it is time to go inside now."

"Yeah I'm starving! Come on Nahla let's go eat!" Isabella said running towards the front door.

"Remember leave all your stuff in the entrance!" Ziva called.

Soon they were all inside the kitchen, dry, and eating a warm delicious lunch of spaghetti and meatballs, a favorite of Tony and Isabella. Bella and Tony wolfed down their first servings and went back for more while Ziva was fine with her medium sized portion. Nahla was in her own world, eating away at her dog food, moving the bowl back and forth. After they all finished eating and the dishes were washed the family of three was very worn out.

"Mama can we watch a movie?" Bella asked.

"Sure go put it on."

"Yay! Ok."

"Ooooh James Bond time yes!" Tony said playfully.

"No Daddy were gonna watch Belle. We watched James Bond all day yesterday."

"Ok ok fine we'll watch your Disney Princess stuff." Tony said tickling Bella. Bella laughed and wriggled her way out of her dad's grasp so she could put on the movie. Beauty and the Beast was her favorite movie of all time.

When the movie was all set up in the den, Bella snuggled next to Ziva on the couch, placing her head in her lap while Ziva played with Bella's curls. Tony settled on the other side of Ziva, his arm wrapping easily around her, while Nahla chewed on her bone in her doggy bed at the foot of the couch. About half an hour into the movie Ziva noticed that Isabella had completely knocked out and was snoring ever so slightly.

"Yup, she is definitely your daughter," Tony said playfully. Ziva swatted his arm.

"Well, looks like she had a pretty fun day." Tony softly.

"Yes, she did, our beautiful little girl," Ziva said brushing the curls out of Isabella's sleeping face.

"There's nothing like a snow day in with my two favorite ladies," Tony said placing a kiss to Ziva's lips.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok so it was supposed to be a one-shot but I got so many more ideas that I just couldn't abandon! Don't know how long this story will be, it'll go on as long as I keep getting ideas! Thanks for the reviews! Keep on doing it haha**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS blah blah blah. I just own Isabella and the dog :]**

Fart

It was finally the end of a very long week at home. The snow had passed and everything that had been shut down, had finally re-opened, including NCIS. Well, almost everything. Washington D.C. Academy-Isabella's school-had had a couple of its pipes burst and flood various buildings of the school and would remain closed until the pipes could get fixed. That meant that Isabella would be going to work with her parents.

It was 6:00am on Monday morning and the DiNozzo/David family was busily getting ready. Ziva was gathering up Bella's things while the little girl was sitting down on her bed half asleep. She was not a morning person, much like her father.

"Mama I'm still sleepy." Isabella said struggling to keep her eyes open.

"I know baby, but you have to come to work with Daddy and me today so we have to hurry."

"Can't I stay home? Nahla will take care of me."

Ziva chuckled. "I'm sure she will but I think it is best that you come with Daddy and me to work."

Isabella sighed and lay back down on her bed. "Come on Noel, time to get up. No more sleep time," Ziva said picking up her very tired daughter. "Mm-m," Isabella mumbled into Ziva's shoulder. Ziva sighed tiredly and went downstairs to attempt to feed a very grouchy Isabella.

"Tony do me a favor," she called as she was walking downstairs.

"What is it?"

"Can you finish packing Bella's things please? I'm going to see if she wants something to eat."

"Anything for you Sweetcheeks." Ziva laughed.

"Bella come on sit down so you eat some cereal," Ziva said trying to set her daughter down at the table. Bella, being the daughter of two very stubborn people, continued to hold on tightly to her mother. She was way to sleep to think of food. All she cared about was how comfortable her mom was at the moment. Ziva, knowing full well of her daughters' stubbornness, did not have the energy that morning to put up with one of Isabella's tantrums. She did them all a favor and continued to let her sleep while she gathered up some snacks and put them in zip lock bags.

"Tony could you hurry please? We are going to be late again!"

"Right here Ziva," Tony said bags slung over his shoulders and coats in hand. "I took the liberty of getting our things so we could head out the door. Aaaaand I fed the dog."

"Oh thank you Tony," Ziva said placing a peck on Tony's cheek. She handed Bella to Tony while she put on her coat and gloves on, as Tony already had his. They tried to put Bella's coat on as well but when they tried to get her little arms in the sleeves, she wrapped 'em tighter around Tony's neck. They didn't even get a chance to change her out of her pajamas or do her hair. They both sighed knowing they weren't going to win. Ziva got the blanket on the couch and wrapped it around Bella, making sure to cover her completely. As soon as they were all set, they were out the door and on their way to NCIS.

They arrived at the navy yard on time, seeing as Ziva drove. _Ding _went the elevator and in the bullpen they went, Ziva carrying a still sleeping Isabella. Tony on the other hand, was carrying the coffee, Ziva's coat, his coat, Bella's coat, both of their NCIS backpacks, and Bella's Princess backpack. Gibbs and McGee were already there when they arrived. McGee laughed seeing Tony struggling to not drop the coffee.

"Hey McGee," Gibbs barked. "Go help DiNozzo."

"Um right boss," McGee said getting up immediately out of his desk and to Tony's side. Ziva laughed and sat down at her desk while Bella dozed in her arms.

"Sorry boss, Bella's school is still closed and we didn't get a babysitter on time so," Tony started to say but was cut off by Gibbs.

"It's fine DiNozzo." Gibbs then went over to Bella and gave her a peck on her cheek. "Bother to do her hair David?" he asked chuckling. "Trust me Gibbs, I did not even want to try. She is not a morning person." "Oh I figured. Look who her father is." McGee and Ziva laughed while Tony looked at them defensively.

Bella stirred and then opened her eyes. "Uncle Gibbs!" she shouted. She leapt out of her mother's lap and into the arms of one of her favorite uncles.

"Nice pj's Bella," McGee said.

Bella turned her head and furrowed her eyebrows at him, a mini death glare as Tony liked to put it. She had Gibbs set her down and walked over to McGee's desk. His face was a mixture of worry and fear, a look usually reserved for when Gibbs would get on his back. Kids really didn't scare him, but this little girl was the daughter of Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David. He had a right to be pretty scared.

"Are you being sarcastic Uncle McGee? Cos Mama says that sarcasm isn't nice," Bella said still giving her famous Ziva look.

"Uhhhh, no I really do like your pajamas Bella," McGee said timidly.

"Oh ok!" Bella said cheerfully. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, announced she was going off to see Aunt Abby, and skipped away. Ziva, Tony, and Gibbs all laughed while Gibbs had his famous sideway smirk on.

"She got you good Probie," Tony said laughing. "You shoulda seen the look on your face McScaredofa7yearold." McGee rolled his eyes and continued to do his computer work.

Down in the lab, Abby was busy on her computer with her music blaring loudly. She was so focused on her work that she didn't notice little Isabella tip-toe behind her. Not surprisingly, when Abby finally turned around, she nearly had a heart attack.

"Hi Aunt Abby!" Bella said giggling.

"Oh you little DiNozzo you!" Abby said picking up her niece and tickling her. "Hey you're wearing the pajamas I gave you," she said proudly.

"They're my favorite," Isabella said giving her mini DiNozzo grin. They were black footie pajamas with rainbow colored stars and skulls all over.

"Oh I have a special surprise for you," Abby said walking to her office and pulling out a pink bag with tissue paper in it. Bella squealed and tore away at the tissue paper. Her big green eyes widened when pulled out two pairs of slippers; a Scooby-Doo pair (her favorite character of all time) and a Bert-the-Hippo pair.

"I love it Auntie Abby! You're the bestest!" Bella exclaimed jumping up in her favorite aunt's arms and gave her a great big hug. She was the only one who had competition with Abby for best hugs.

"Put the hippo one's on and walk around in them," Abby said, her smile getting wider by the second. Bella did as she was told and circled the lab in her brand new slippers.

"Hmmm…that's strange," Abby said confused. "I could've sworn that they…oh here it is!" She stuck her hand inside the slipper and pushed a button. "Ok Bella. NOW walk." When she did her mini Bert-the-Hippo slippers made the same noises as Abby's regular stuffed animal did; they farted.

Hearing the farting noises sent little Isabella into a fit of laughter that had her rolling on the floor. "I wanna go show Mama! She's gonna be so mad when she thinks it's really me farting!" Isabella said in between laughs. Abby smiled proudly.

Isabella didn't bother taking the elevator back up to the bullpen. She wanted to make the most out of her farting slippers. Needless to say, she got many strange looks from people as she walking. It wasn't everyday that they saw a little girl in pajamas, with tangled curly hair, who had a bad case of gas, running around the building.

"Mama, Daddy!" Isabella shouted. "Look what I can do!"

Ziva's eyes widened in horror when she heard the interesting noises coming from her daughter, while Tony tried to hold back his laughter.

"Isabella Noel DiNozzo, you know you are not supposed to do that in public!" Ziva was completely embarrassed; people were staring! Isabella didn't care the least bit. She continued to walk and "fart" thinking it was the most hilarious thing on the planet. Ziva took notice of Tony trying to hide his laughter and gave him her famous death glare.

"Tony this is not a time to be laughing! Look what kind of example you are showing her! She is going to think it is ok to pass gas in public!"

"That's not why I'm laughing Ziva," Tony said trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard.

"Why then?" Ziva was losing her patience.

"Take a look at her slippers," Tony said pointing to Bella's feet.

"What do hippo slippers have to do with…oooh…ugh Abby." Ziva said putting her face in her hands. It finally dawned on her that the gassy noises were coming from the slippers, not her daughter.

"You knew about this?" Ziva asked still a bit frustrated.

"Yup. Abby told me she had ordered a pair for Bella. I just didn't think they'd be here so soon." Tony said still slightly laughing.

"And why did she fail to mention anything to me?"

"Cos she knew you'd say no."

Ziva rolled her eyes. She calmed down a bit, but the same look of horror on her face showed up again when she McGee an Gibbs returning to the squadroom from MTAC…with the director! Before she could stop Bella, she was already on her way upstairs. Another thing Isabella inherited from her mother; speed.

Tony and Ziva watched from downstairs, "the looks" on the men's faces as they watched the little girl walk and "fart'' as if nothing was wrong. McGee bit his lip to keep from smiling, while Gibbs smirked. Vance looked completely uncomfortable and then just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Gibbs picked up the still smiling and laughing Isabella, as she waved "hi" downstairs to her parents.

Ziva walked over to Tony's desk and sat at the edge. She put her arm around her fiancé and finally laughed about the whole situation. "She is definitely your daughter Tony," she said as they both smiled and waved back.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and alerts and subscriptions! It keeps me motivated to update and to keep writing! I was going to update with a different story but I had some inspiration from Valentine's Day so Happy Really Late Valentine's Day! :-***

**Disclaimer: Isabella and Nahla are mine. That's it.**

Valentine

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Isabella was the first one up which was very unusual, but then again it was normal for her to be the first one up on the special holidays; Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, her birthday.

"Good morning love," Ziva said sleepily.

"Prsmsdhtsoslzip," Tony said buried under the covers. Isabella giggled.

"Come on Daddy get up! Time to make pancakes!" she said jumping on top of Tony and shaking him with all her strength. Every year on Valentine's, he made special heart shaped pancakes topped with whipped cream and strawberries.

"Ok, ok I'm up I'm up!" Tony said throwing the covers off. He scooped Isabella off the bed and spun her around. She giggled and let her head hang down with her long sandy brown curls almost touching the floor. Just then Nahla joined in on the fun and climbed on top of the bed, barking happily.

"Nahla down!" Ziva didn't like when the dog jumped up on the bed without permission. Instead of listening though, she licked Ziva's face excitedly, urging her to get out of bed. It was almost time for her breakfast. Tony and Isabella giggled at Ziva's expense until she threatened Tony with bodily harm unless he didn't get the dog off of her. He set Isabella down and called for Nahla to follow him downstairs so he could feed her.

"Mama, can you put the pretty bow in my hair today?"

"Yes of course my love."

"Yay! Ok I'm gonna go get ready now. I can't wait to go to school today and eat my cupcakes!"

Since the private school Isabella attended went from kindergarten through twelfth grade, only the elementary grades were allowed to have little Valentine's celebrations if the teacher's allowed. Luckily, Mrs. Hurley, Isabella's 2nd grade teacher had agreed to a party. Isabella volunteered to make cupcakes, which really meant she got to pick out the flavor while her parents made them.

Ziva laughed and finally got up to start the day. Soon they were all down in the kitchen eating their special Valentine's Day breakfast, listening to the love ballads playing on the stereo in the den, of none other than Celine Dion. She was Isabella's favorite singer.

Bella hummed and ate happily. Her hair was slicked back into a nice ponytail topped with a big red bow. She couldn't wear her Valentine's outfit since she had to wear a uniform but it didn't make a difference to her. She was so concentrated on her pancakes and Celine, nothing could bring her down. Almost twenty minutes later, the David/DiNozzo clan were headed out the door and on to work and school.

When Bella arrived at school, she skipped inside her classroom with Ziva trailing behind holding the tray of cupcakes.

"Hi there!" Mrs. Hurley said cheerfully greeting Isabella and Ziva at the door to the class. "You're here very early today Miss Isabella."

"I wanted to show you the cupcakes me and Mama and Daddy made." Isabella said shyly. She absolutely adored Mrs. Hurley and was basically the class teacher's pet.

Ziva rolled her eyes playfully knowing full well Isabella only assisted in licking the bowl.

"Hello Miss David. It's good to see you again." Mrs. Hurley said extending her hand towards Ziva's free one.

Ziva winced inside. It bothered her a lot knowing she didn't have the same last name as her daughter or her significant other. She definitely wanted to fix that problem.

"It's good to see you too." Ziva said smiling. She and Tony tried to be as involved as possible in Isabella's school life-Parent Teacher Association and all that other good stuff-but with their work schedule, it wasn't always possible. Luckily Gibbs sympathized with them and always let one parent leave to attend school functions. The last time Ziva and Tony were able to attend a PTA meeting or program together, had been in December when the school had their annual Christmas pageant. The last PTA meeting had taken place in January. Tony had won best 2 out of 3 in a battle of rock paper scissors.

More students arrived with more parents holding various food trays and pots. Mrs. Hurley went and greeted all the parents while Bella eagerly showed Ziva all of her latest art projects and how much she loved her music class.

"And then we're learning this new song and Mrs. Carroll said that I could be in the musical if I practice really really hard!"

"That's wonderful my love!" Ziva said proudly. She loved hearing about her daughters' enthusiasm with all of her classes and school projects, but it was time to head to work. Gibbs understood that they couldn't be prompt all the time the way they used to, but he would be pissed if they were late two days in a row.

"I have to go now baby, but how but about you tell finish telling me and Daddy all about it when we come and pick you up?"

Isabella's green eyes widened. "You AND Daddy?"

"Yes. Me AND Daddy."

Bella squealed and jumped into Ziva's arms hugging her tightly and placing a great big kiss on her cheek. It wasn't often that he got to see both her parents when she got out of school. Most of the time, one picked her up from school and took her to ballet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while she only saw the other when they were tucking her into bed. The other times, she had a babysitter. Bella liked her babysitter, but she would rather be with her Mama and Daddy.

Bella jumped back out of Ziva's arms and started pushing her out the door.

"Isabella Noel what are you doing?"

"Making you go! If you leave fast then Uncle Gibbs won't make you and Daddy stay late! Hurry go Mama go!" Isabella knew her uncle all too well.

Ziva chuckle and headed out the door giving Bella one last kiss on the cheek before she completely kicked her out of her classroom.

"Oh wait Miss David before you leave I would like to speak to you about something." Mrs. Hurley said catching Ziva before she left.

"But Mrs. Hurley Mama has to go! If she doesn't go then Uncle Gibbs is gonna give them his Gibbs stare and then they're gonna have to stay late again, and then…" Now Ziva gave _her_ famous stare. Isabella immediately quieted down and went back to her desk. She knew when not to play games with her mother.

"Yes?" Ziva asked anxiously. She knew Isabella was right about them being late.

"Well I can see that you're in a hurry so I think it would be best if we could set up a conference." Mrs. Hurley said when they were out of earshot from Bella.

"Is there a problem?" Ziva asked worriedly.

"I don't really want to call it a problem. Isabella's a wonderful student. I know as a teacher I'm not supposed to have favorites but she certainly is one of mine. Just keep that little detail between us." Ziva smirked. "But that's why I'm so concerned with her behavior lately. Here is my cell number and all my information and then some. Call me as soon as you can so we can set up a conference. I don't want to keep you any longer." She handed Ziva a folder with papers, and they said they're goodbye's.

"Ziva what took you so long? Gibbs is gonna have our ass if we're late again," Tony said in between bites of his mini powdered doughnuts when Ziva finally returned to the car.

"Bella's teacher needed to talk to me about something." Ziva said looking through the papers the teacher had given her.

"What about?"

"I am not sure. She said we needed to set up a conference with her as soon as possible," Ziva said still looking through the papers.

"What could possibly be wrong with Bella? The kid's practically a genius. She has the DiNozzo charm and good looks, your brain and crazy ninja skills. And that curly hair? Whoo! I love it!" Tony could brag all day about his daughter.

"Tony stop." Ziva said seriously.

"What? Come on we can brag about our amazing daughter if we want."

"Tony, I think we might have to take Bella to a behavior specialist."

**Dun Dun Dun! Evil cliffhangers mwuahahahaha! It's not my best chapter but the next one will be better! So don't lose faith lol. And I'm so sorry it took so long for me to update! All of my professors made a secret pact and decided to overwhelm me with projects and essays and tests to study for. I promise I will do better at updating the next chapters to come! Keep the reviews coming! :]**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yay! Every time I post a new chapter I get a whole new little group of followers! Just keep up the reviews. Feedback is love :] Here is the second part of the last chapter. Don't worry, nothing too serious is going down….yet ;].**

**Disclaimer: Once again I don't own NCIS blah blah blah. Just Isabella and the dog and all the other characters that aren't apart of the series. **

Valentine Part 2

"What do you mean we have to take Isabella to a behavior specialist?" Tony was angry and confused. Isabella was perfectly fine. She didn't need to go see some kiddie shrink.

"Tony please calm down. I want to set up this parent/teacher conference before we do anything pasty." Ziva was trying to be reasonable.

"Hasty." Tony said angrily.

Ziva gave him look and off they went to NCIS. They were definitely going to be late again.

*NCIS*

"Where the hell are DiNozzo and David?" Gibbs said to no one in particular. He was extremely aggravated. This was the second day in a row that two of his agents were late.

"Right here boss," Tony said throwing his stuff behind his desk. Ziva had no luck in trying to calm him down during the car ride. She was slowly losing her patience as well.

"That's 2 days in a row." Gibbs said giving them both his famous glare.

"We are sorry Gibbs. Bella's teacher needed to speak with us about something." Ziva was trying to take control of the situation.

"Speak with us? She's practically saying our kid is crazy!" Tony couldn't keep his anger in anymore.

Gibbs gave a confused look that now demanded answers. "What?"

Ziva sighed. She hated having to explain the whole situation to Gibbs. She was hoping she could keep it just between her and Tony. But as was always the case, they could never keep their family "problems" a secret for long. The team always found out one way or another.

"Well, we do not know exactly why, but her teacher needs to have a conference with Tony and I. Apparently she's been having some behavior problems and she gave us some references to a child behavior specialist."

"A behavior specialist?" It was Gibbs' turn to be angry now. He gave Ziva a look that said 'this-is-all-a-crock-and-there-is-no-way-in-hell-you're-taking-her-to-some-crazy-shrink-right?' He looked over at Tony who was grumbling angrily and looked like he was about to throw his computer out the window for taking forever to turn on.

"There's nothing wrong with Bella, Tony. She doesn't need to go to some shrink." Gibbs said sternly.

"Well I know that but obviously some people need some more convincing!"

"Tony, believe me. I am just as angry about the situation as you are," Ziva said calmly. "I do think we should still set up the conference with Mrs. Hurley so we can settle this whole misunderstanding."

"She's right DiNozzo."

"Fine. But don't expect me to pretend like everything's fine and dandy." Tony said. He was still angry but he knew he couldn't just ignore the situation. If the teacher was concerned for Bella, maybe there was a little problem going on that he and Ziva needed to get taken care of before it got out of hand.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Abby came bouncing in the bullpen the perfect moment. She was dressed in black and red with big red heart bows in her high ponytails. She gave each member of team Gibbs their own little goody bag with various heart shaped chocolates and candies.

"Hey where's Timmy?" she asked looking around.

"Hey yea. Where is Mr. Gemcity?" Tony asked looking around barely realizing that he wasn't there.

"Up in MTAC with the director." Gibbs answered.

"Oh ok. Well let me know when he gets back. I have his Valentine's gift down in my lab." Tony and Ziva gave each other a look. "Oh and before you guys leave I have Bella's gift in my lab too!"

"Please Abby, no more farting slippers." Ziva said. They all smiled remembering the hilarious incident. Ziva banned Isabella from wearing them out in public after that day, much to Bella, Tony and Abby's dismay. Gibbs then left to MTAC leaving Tony and Ziva alone in the bullpen. She walked over to Tony's desk and placed herself on the edge.

"I hope you know that everything is going to be fine." She said putting her hand on his cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just hate knowing that something might be wrong with her ya know?" Tony said finally admitting his true feelings to Ziva about the whole situation. She placed a kiss on his cheek and tousled his hair the way he did to her sometimes to make her smile. Tony relaxed a little and they went about their long day of paperwork.

*NCIS*

_Ring Ring._ The bell had finally rung, signaling the end of the school day for Isabella. She waited patiently in line, chatting with one of her friends about how fun the party had been and how good the food was. They were both happily eating the cupcakes Isabella had brought in and clutching goodie bags full of sweets, and Valentine cards. Mrs. Hurley finally released them and waved goodbye at the door to each of her students as they went on their way out. Isabella was last in line.

"Have a good Valentine's Day sweetie." Mrs. Hurley said wiping cupcake frosting off of Isabella's mouth.

"You too Mrs. Hurley!" She gave her a big hug and skipped to the front of the school to wait for her parents.

Tony and Ziva were already in the parking lot waiting for Isabella. Thankfully, they didn't have a case and were stuck doing paperwork the whole day. The only reason Gibbs let them leave early was because Abby kept on mentioning how crushed little Bella would be if Tony and Ziva had to break their promise to her again.

"Mama, Daddy!" Isabella shouted running towards the car. She opened the passenger door and threw herself at Ziva giving her a bone crushing hug.

"Mama! I missed you!"

"I missed you too my love," Ziva said wiping more frosting off of Isabella's face.

"Hey what about your ole man?" Tony said dramatically.

Isabella chuckled and then climbed over to Tony and gave him an equal bone crushing hug and a kiss on the nose. She then jumped to the backseat, put on her seatbelt, and they were off.

"Daddy, where are we going?" Isabella asked eagerly while munching on one of her chocolates.

"Well first we're headed home so we can change."

"And then?"

"And then…it's a surprise."

Bella's green eyes sparkled. She absolutely loved surprises. Even Ziva was a little taken aback.

"A surprise?" she asked.

"Yup, a surprise!" Tony said, his smile widening by the second.

"I thought we were going to have a nice little dinner and a movie at home."

"Eh, I lied." Tony said bluntly.

Ziva smirked. "Oh Tony what do you have up your shirt this time?"

"Sleeve." Tony and Bella answered. "And I'm not telling." Tony said with a mischievous look in his eye.

*NCIS*

"Now will you please tell me where we are going?" Ziva asked for the umpteenth time. They were in the car once again, dressed in their Valentine's Day best, waiting to get to their destination. Ziva had on a long sleeved, v-neck, low back, dark red dress and red stiletos. Bella had on a long sleeve, loose, turtle neck sweater with black dressy pants, and her red "Dorothy shoes" as she liked to call them. Bella and Ziva both had their down and curly, just the way Tony liked it. He had on one of his fancier black suits with a red tie to match his leading ladies.

"I hope we're going to a restaurant 'cause I'm STARVING!" Isabella said dramatically.

"You practically ate half of your bag of candy." Tony said.

"I know but that wasn't real food."

Ziva chuckled. Soon they finally arrived at their destination.

"Gappettos?" Ziva said surprisingly.

"Yup." Tony said flashing his famous smile.

"But Tony, we have been trying to get reservations for months! How did you manage?"

"Well, I uh, made some phone calls, pulled a few strings and here we are."

Gappettos was the hottest and most expensive Italian restaurant in the D.C. area. It had opened the year before and had been booked every night since then. No one could get in without a reservation.

"Yay food!" Bella shouted.

A man came up and handed Tony a little ticket. The family of three exited the car and the man took his place in the driver's seat so he could park the car. Tony and Ziva entered the restaurant hand in hand with Tony carrying Bella in his free arm.

"Name please?" the hostess asked mechanically.

"Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." Tony answered smiling.

"Oh Mr. DiNozzo. Right this way please." The hostess said perking up a bit.

Ziva and Bella gave Tony a look. He continued to smile mischievously and followed the hostess to their table. She led them to a private room in the back and gave Tony a knowing smile. "Enjoy your night." She said leaving the family.

"Tony," Ziva gasped. She couldn't believe the sight in front of her. They private room that Tony had booked had a candlelit table set for three, and rose petals covering the ground. About 5 dozen bouquets of red roses decorated the large window where they had an amazing view of the D.C skyline.

Isabella's green eyes widened and sparkled. She was now showing her DiNozzo grin and she squealed ever so slightly. She scrambled out of her dad's arms and into the room where she ran to the window smelling all the roses.

"Tony, how did you?" Ziva started.

"Well if you must know, an old college buddy of mine owns the place. He owes me one anyway so I asked if I could have the room for tonight." Ziva smiled. They were seated at the table and a waiter soon attended them. Tony ordered the best bottle of champagne and some sparkling cider for Bella.

"A toast, to my two favorite ladies in the entire world." Tony said raising his glass. Ziva and Bella did the same and they all took a sip of their drinks.

"Mama, what did Mrs. Hurley want to talk to you about?" Bella asked randomly.

Ziva opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Tony.

"We're not gonna worry about that right now kiddo k?"

Bella shrugged and continued to sip her sparkling cider. The waiter came back, took their order and left again. A few moments later a violin quartet entered the room startling Ziva. Then they started softly playing Pachebals Canon, a favorite of Ziva's. She gave him a look that said, 'are-the-surprises-going-to-stop-anytime-soon?' He returned a look that said 'oh-it's-not-gonna-stop-there.' Bella smiled enjoying every minute of the quartet. She closed her eyes and even pretended she was playing along with them. By the end of the song, she was almost on her hands and knees begging Ziva for violin lessons. Their food arrived about twenty minutes later filling the room with the wonderful scents of delicious Italian cuisine. They ate happily keeping a light conversation going. They mostly talked about Bella's school activities and how excited she was about her upcoming ballet recital, and her possible role in the school musical. Their plates were soon cleaned, and it was time for dessert.

"What would my two ladies like for dessert?" Tony asked in a goofy Italian accent.

"Chocolate cake!" Bella shouted.

"You know, that actually sounds pretty good." Ziva said. "I will have some too."

"Well since I don't wanna be the oddball out here, make that three pieces of double fudge chocolate cake!" The waiter returned once again and took in their dessert orders. He came back 10 minutes later with 3 huge pieces of chocolate cake, topped with hot fudge and a side of vanilla ice cream. Bella's eyes and smile widened. "Mmmm fudge," she said wolfing down a huge bite. Ziva rolled her eyes playfully. "She is your daughter Tony."

They are their dessert happily. Tony though, was waiting for the perfect moment to deliver his last surprises. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and went outside the room. He returned with a lady, guitar in hand, and began singing an acoustic rendition of Celine Dion's _Because You Loved Me. _Bella's mouth opened in a large O.

"My favorite song!" She squealed happily.

Tony then handed Ziva and Bella sealed cards.

"Ziva, you first." He said softly.

She smiled at him and opened her envelope.

"To where it all began," she read. She let out a gasp and her brown eyes widened. "Tickets to Paris? Tony, you didn't!"

"Oh but I did," Tony said proudly. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips, slight tears filling her eyes.

"My turn my turn!" Bella said ripping open the envelope.

Ziva squeezed Tony's hand and looked at him wondering he could have possible done this time.

"Daddy, how come you gave me a postcard of Vegas?" Bella said scrunching up her face in confusion.

"Come here kiddo," he said gesturing Bella towards him. She went over and placed herself in his lap and put her arm his neck.

"Who's the best singer in the entire world?" Tony asked.

"Celine Dion duh!" Isabella said smiling.

"And where is she gonna be for the next three years?"

"Las Vegas."

"Well, guess where we're going in the next couple of months?"

Isabella's eyes turned into saucers. She stayed quiet for a couple seconds, and then practically exploded with excitement and happiness.

"WE'RE GONNA GO SEE CELINE DION?"

"Yes we are!" Tony answered happily.

Bella then let out the loudest squeal possible and practically knocked Tony out of his chair, she hugged him so hard. After that, she ran around the room jumping up down squealing with delight.

"Tony, you are the most amazing husband and father Isabella and I could ask for." Ziva said cupping his face in her hand. "What did I do to deserve you?" "I ask myself the same question." Tony replied kissing her.

Bella was so overwhelmed with joy that she went up to the lady that was singing and hugged her.

"Why don't you sing the last phrase of the song with me?" she asked Bella.

Bella nodded happily. At that moment Tony and Ziva stood up and held each other close. "Nothing like a Valentine's Day with my two favorite ladies," Tony whispered to Ziva.

"I love you Tony."

"I love you Ziva."

The world around them seemed to disappear as Bella and the singer sang the last verse of the song.

_I'm everything I am, because you loved me. _

**So how did everyone like this chapter? I don't know if you all noticed but I am a huge Celine fan haha. I don't know how it will be until the next chapter 'cause I still need to gather all my ideas together. The "issues" from Chapter 3 have not been forgotten though! Stay tuned to see what happens. Don't forget, reviews make the world go round :]**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I can't believe how this little one-shot is turning into a very much appreciated story! :] It makes me very happy! **

**Luckysparks: Well actually Tony and Ziva are already engaged, just not married haha. So you maybe have a secret surprise wedding to look forward to! *spoilers* Yes, I'm aware that seeing a behavior specialist isn't a bad thing at all. I'm also currently studying to be a child psychologist so I already had those ideas in mind. Ssshhhh! Don't ruin my surprises haha. **

**Probieprincess: Haha that's great! I thought I'd add a little bit of me in Isabella. I was her age when I became obsessed ;]**

**Disclaimer: No I don't freaking own NCIS just all the characters that aren't apart of the series! **

About a week had passed since Valentine's Day. Isabella told practically everyone in the world that in the coming months she was going to see the greatest singer in the world. None of her friends really shared in her excitement, just her teacher and her aunt and uncles at NCIS.

After all the excitement, Tony and Ziva had to wear down their high by setting up the conference with Isabella's teacher. Now they were at work, sitting at their desks, counting down the minutes until they had to leave to the dreaded conference. Tony was nervously clicking his pen while Ziva tapped her fingers on the desk.

"Will you guys please cut that out?" McGee was getting annoyed and couldn't concentrate on his work with all the tapping and clicking. He immediately regretted opening his big mouth when Ziva and Tony gave him an icy glare. He shut up and went back to his computer. Gibbs came in a little while later.

"Don't you two have someplace to be?" he said sitting down at his desk.

Tony and Ziva gave each other a look, gathered their things, and left without a word. Gibbs smirked knowing that whatever the situation was, everything was going to be ok; his gut said so.

*NCIS*

Tony and Ziva didn't say a word to one another the whole car ride to Bella's school. There was a lot of unspoken nervousness and tension. They knew nothing too serious could be wrong, it was more of the fear of the unknown that was bugging them.

When they finally arrived at the school, Bella was waiting patiently in the front office, not even realizing that anything was wrong. She was happily humming one of the songs she had learned in music class; she was very determined in being the youngest student to ever get cast in a school musical. She had no idea what Mrs. Hurley needed to talk to her parents about.

"Hi Mama, hi Daddy," Isabella said.

"Hey kiddo! How's my favorite 7 year old doing?" Tony said scooping Isabella up and into his arms.

"Good." Isabella said giggling. "What are you and Mama gonna talk to Mrs. Hurley about?"

"Well we'll let you know when were done alright?"

"Ok. I'm gonna go to Mrs. Carroll's room so she can help me practice." With that, she skipped away to her music class, still humming as happy as can be.

Tony and Ziva walked into Mrs. Hurley's class now more nervous than ever. If Ziva wouldn't have been holding on to Tony so tightly, she probably would've fallen over herself, her knees had long turned to jelly.

"Hello Mr. DiNozzo, Ms. David," Mrs. Hurley said greeting them warmly. They exchanged hello's but had to wipe their hands before they shook hands with the teacher. The nervousness was making them perspire.

"Have a seat please." Mrs. Hurley said. Tony and Ziva sat bracing themselves.

"Well I hope both of you realize that you have an amazing little girl."

"Yes, we are very lucky," Ziva said smiling.

"She's very helpful, she gets along well with the other students, she participates in class. I'm sure you heard that the music teacher is thinking about casting her in the school musical, which would be a very big deal because she'll be the youngest student ever to be in one of the musicals. I'm actually very excited for her."

Tony and Ziva were beaming with pride.

"But that's not exactly what I wanted to talk to you both about. I've been concerned with her behavior lately."

Their smiles dropped almost instantly.

"She seems to be in a daze lately. She gets all of her school work done but after she's finished she just doesn't seem to know what to do with herself."

Ziva winced on the inside. She pictured Tony throwing spitballs at McGee when he was bored at work. '_Oh God, please do not tell me that she is throwing spitballs at the other students.'_ she thought. Tony seemed to share the same thoughts when he and Ziva gave each other a look.

"Mrs. Hurley I am very sorry if she is throwing spitballs at the other kids or super gluing their hands to their desks," Ziva started. "I will have a long talk with her," she said glaring at Tony, silently reprimanding him for bragging about all the pranks he pulled on McGee.

"Oh no she's never done anything like that." Mrs. Hurley said a bit confused.

Tony and Ziva breathed sighs of relief.

"What I'm thinking is that she just seems really…bored. She's always the first one to finish her work and everything is always correct. I was talking to the principle earlier and we both came to the conclusion that maybe she'll be more comfortable in the Advanced Placement classes. And if it's ok with the two you, we would like to have her tested to see if she could maybe even skip the third grade."

"Advanced Placement?" Ziva asked.

"Skip the 3rd grade?" Tony couldn't believe it. "Yes! Whoo! I know my kid was a genius!"

Mrs. Hurley and Ziva chuckled.

"That is very good news but I'm still a little confused. If you wanted to talk to us about Isabella skipping a grade and placing her in the advanced classes, why did you give us references for her to see a behavior specialist?" Ziva asked.

"Behavior specialist?" It was Mrs. Hurley's turn to be confused. "Didn't I give you information about the AP classes?"

"No." Tony and Ziva said in unison.

"Oh my, I am so sorry about that! Oh my gosh I feel so bad! I was rushing to catch you before you left the last time I saw you, I must've grabbed the wrong papers. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I did that. No wonder you two looked so nervous when you walked in."

Tony and Ziva breathed more sighs of relief. There was absolutely nothing wrong with their daughter, she was just really, really, smart.

Moments later, Isabella walked in jumping and down squealing with delight with Mrs. Carroll right behind her.

"Hey there, you're just in time." Mrs. Hurley said smiling.

"Mama, Daddy, guess what guess what guess what?"

"What what what?" Tony said.

"I get to be in the musical!"

"That is wonderful my love!" Ziva said hugging Isabella tenderly.

"Yes! That's my girl." Tony said smiling his DiNozzo smile.

"That's great news Isabella. We're all very happy for you." Mrs. Hurley said.

"Hi, I'm Mrs. Carroll, Isabella's music teacher." Mrs. Carroll said greeting Tony and Ziva. "You have a really talented little girl on your hands. I've never had a student her age who had as much energy and charisma on stage as she does."

"Thank you Mrs. Carroll we are certainly very proud of her." Ziva said beaming proudly.

"Well Bella, it's a good thing that you're here 'cause we have some good news for you," Mrs. Hurley said.

"More good news?" Bella was ecstatic.

"Yes. Starting next week, you'll be in the AP classes with Mr. Peterson and when the year is over, you get to take this special test to see if you can skip 3rd grade!" Mrs. Hurley was smiling from ear to ear.

Bella stopped and stared at her teacher with a blank look on her face.

"What is the matter my love?"

"Yea come on kiddo aren't you excited?" Tony asked waiting for his little girl to explode with excitement.

Bella's green eyes filled with tears and her lower lip started to tremble.

"You don't wanna be my teacher anymore?"

**Ending with another cliffhanger haha. I wasn't sure how to end it but that's the only way I could think of. So what do y'all think is going to happen next? Let me know! I already have the next chapter planned out, but maybe I'll get some more ideas. Remember reviews make the world go round :] **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Once again, thanks for the reviews, alerts, subscriptions, and all that other good stuff! At this rate, the story could go on forever! Every chapter I finish, so many more ideas come to my head than what I originally planned it's crazy. Plus my niece and nephew are around the same age as Isabella and every little mishap they get themselves into gives me so much more inspiration for this loveable little girl. :] As a writer, it makes me feel so awesome knowing that people actually read and are taking to this story! Thank you all so so so so much! **

**Disclaimer: No I don't own NCIS, just the characters that aren't apart of the series. Gosh it's so annoying writing that every time! **

Hurt

There was no cheering Isabella up after she heard the news that she was no longer going to be in the regular class with all her friends and her beloved Mrs. Hurley. They all tried to reason that it was the best thing for her, but Isabella didn't want to hear any of it.

"But Isabella, honey, Mr. Peterson's class does so much more exciting things. You'll have a lot more to do in there and you'll never be bored in his class either." Mrs. Hurley was trying her best to convince Isabella that her moving to a different class was a good thing. She wasn't having any luck at all.

"I don't wanna go to his class though! I wanna stay here! I don't know anybody in that class! And I don't wanna skip third grade! Why do I have to skip?"

"You know Isabella, the advanced classes are really a lot more fun." Mrs. Carroll said trying to help pitch in.

"But Mrs. Carroll, if I go to Mr. Peterson's class, you won't be my music teacher anymore either!"

"Wait what?" It was Mrs. Carroll's turn to be confused.

"Ms. Johnson has the AP kids for music." Mrs. Hurley said quietly.

Isabella couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears and threw herself into Ziva's arms hugging her tightly.

"I wanna go home now." She said in between cries.

Ziva gave both teachers a sympathetic look. "We will try and talk to her when we get home." She said getting up from her chair.

"I'm really sorry this had to end on such a bad note," Mrs. Hurley said. "I thought she would be excited about this." No one could imagine how awful she felt on the inside at that moment.

"Thanks for your time," Tony said following Ziva. With that, they both left with Ziva carrying a sobbing Isabella.

"Olivia, you need to fix this…like now." Mrs. Carroll said to Mrs. Hurley after Tony and Ziva exited.

"Monica, I don't even know what to do. The principal already signed all the paperwork for her to transfer," Mrs. Hurley said putting her face in her hands.

"Then go undo it or something! Look we all know that she doesn't wanna go to Peterson's class or skip the third grade even though she's pretty damn smart. But that's not the best thing for her. This is the only stability she has. Look at what her parents do every day! One of them could easily be taken from her and she knows that. School is like, her sanity, her safe place. If she can't feel secure here, what makes you think she's going to be able to handle seeing her parents go off to work every single day knowing the dangers they face?"

"Oh my God, you're right! I wasn't even thinking about that. Ugh. I screwed up big time."

"Yea you did! Plus I already cast her in the musical and if she goes to Johnson's class, she won't be able to do that either! Do you know how long she's been practicing for that?"

"She'll really hate me after that."

"_I'll _hate you after that! So go talk to Dr. Gordon now before he leaves pronto!" Mrs. Carroll said with a smirk.

Mrs. Hurley then scrambled out of her desk, and ran out of the classroom as fast as her heels let her.

*NCIS*

After the p/t conference, Tony and Ziva had return to NCIS. They had a case, and Gibbs needed everyone back in the squadroom. The babysitter was out of town for the weekend, so Bella was going to have to go back to NCIS with her parents. When they arrived in the bullpen, Bella was still not a happy camper. She walked in a couple feet behind her parents, her head hanging low, with a look that had a mixture of sadness and anger. Everyone immediately knew something was wrong. Bella was never _not_ jumping around or talking excitedly about something.

"So uh how'd the parent/teacher conference go?" McGee asked trying to make a light conversation.

"Don't ask." Tony replied.

"I'm going with Aunt Abby." Bella said softly. Once she was out of earshot Tony and Ziva started talking.

"Ziva, I'm telling you if she doesn't wanna go, we shouldn't make her go!" Tony didn't mind his daughter being really smart and going to the AP classes and possibly skipping a grade, but if it wasn't what Bella wanted, he wasn't going to push it.

"Tony, I know she may not realize it right now, but I think this is the best thing for her. Think about how many opportunities she will have." Ziva was now trying to convince Tony that Bella transferring to the advanced classes was in her best interest.

"But what's the point if she's gonna be unhappy?"

"I'm sure that when she gets used to it, she will learn to like it."

"How do you know she'll even get used to it in the first place?"

"How do you know she will not?"

"Because I could tell by the look in her eye! She doesn't wanna go Ziva! Tell her Probie!"

"McGee, please tell Tony that Isabella going to the advanced classes and skipping a grade is the best thing for her."

"Um, guys I'm not in this." Poor McGee was now caught in the middle.

"It's a simple freaking question!"

"Remember I could kill you right now with this paper clip," Ziva said holding up a paper clip with her famous death glare plastered on her face.

"What's going on? Gibbs asked calmly walking in from MTAC.

"Bella's teacher wants to have her moved up to the advanced classes and take a test so she can skip the third grade. I want her to go through with it, but Tony does not seem to agree with me." Ziva said furrowing her brows at Tony.

"Hey, I would be all for it too, but she clearly does NOT want to go, and I'm not gonna be the one to make her to do something she doesn't wanna do!" Tony said making a face at Ziva. She narrowed her eyes at him in return.

"Gibbs, tell her she's wrong."

"No Gibbs, tell him he's wrong!"

"I'm just gonna go now," McGee said getting up from his chair.

"Stay McGee!" Tony and Ziva both said yelling at McGee. McGee sat back down, fearful that Ziva might use one of the paperclips on him if he didn't listen.

"Well, if you ask me, you're both wrong." Gibbs said.

"What?" Tony and Ziva said again.

"Did you even bother to ask Isabella why she doesn't wanna go in the first place?"

"Well, no, not exactly," Ziva started.

"She just said she didn't want to go," Tony said at the same.

"What are you waiting for? Go talk to her." Gibbs said finishing the argument. Tony and Ziva got up obeying Gibbs' orders. As they passed by him he gave 'em both smacks to the back of the head. They didn't even ask why he smacked them that time; they knew all too well they were both at fault.

*NCIS*

Down in Abby's lab, Bella had cheered up a bit. Abby was video chatting with Ducky while he was telling them stories about his childhood that had Isabella laughing.

"Hey Abby," Tony said entering the room.

"Oh hey guys! I still don't have anything on the fingerprints yet, but I can always use another Caf-Pow!"

"Well actually Abby we would like to speak with Isabella about a couple of things." Ziva said.

"Ok go ahead talk." Abby said smiling. Tony and Ziva knew that Abby was going to find out about the situation one way or another so they didn't even bother asking her to leave her own lab for privacy. They were pretty sure Bella already told her about the situation anyway. Bella told her Aunt Abby everything.

"Hey how you doing there kiddo?" Tony said picking up Isabella.

"Fine." She answered. Her green eyes were still sad.

"Can I ask you something my love?" Ziva asked softly. Bella nodded her head.

"Why do you not want to go into the other classes?"

"'Cause." Isabella answered softly.

"'Cause why kiddo?" Tony asked.

"'Cause all my friends are in Mrs. Hurley's class and she's my favorite teacher, and then Mrs. Carroll won't be my teacher either and I won't be able to be in the musical."

"We know that my love, but maybe if you just try it out, you will see that it is not that bad after all." Ziva said.

"But Mama, at the end of the year we were going to take a field trip to somewhere really really special and Mrs. Hurley said she was going to give out a special award! I've been really good all year 'cause I really wanna get the award." Bella was in tears again. "I don't want things to change. I don't like change."

"What's wrong with change?" Tony asked.

"Well Anthony, I believe she is not exactly referring to the change that you might be thinking." Ducky answered. Abby had forgotten to turn off the video chat and he had witnessed their whole conversation.

"Ducky? Where did you come from?" Tony asked barely noticing he was there.

"Oh my apologies. Abby left this video chat running and I certainly didn't want to interrupt. But if I may I would like to put in my two cents."

"What does this have to do with money?" Ziva asked furrowing her brows in confusion. Abby smirked while Tony and Bella just rolled their eyes.

"Well, I think Isabella is not quite at peace with the both of you working here. She sees the dangers that you face every day and for all she knows one of you or both of you could easily be taken from her. Her school is the only place she feels that everything is predictable. Her all of a sudden changing classes and switching instructors is the worst thing for her at this moment in time, especially when the semester is going to be over in several months. She'll have to get used to a whole new different group of people and when it's over, she's going to have to do the same thing all over again, with a group of people who are not in the same age group."

"So what should we do?" Tony asked.

"Can I make a suggestion?" McGee asked. He had walked in the lab quietly while Ducky was making his speech and didn't want to interrupt.

"McGee it's not nice to just butt in like that." Abby said scolding him.

"But Ducky.." he started to say.

"Nevermind that. I would like to hear what McGee has to say." Ziva said

"Well, I was going to suggest that Bella just finish out the school year as is, in her regular classes, and then have her put in the advanced classes next year so she won't have to skip a grade."

They all stood quiet thinking about what McGee said. Tony was the first to speak.

"That's actually not a bad idea Probie."

"Before we make any decisions though, Isabella, how do you feel about that?" Ziva asked.

Bella stayed quiet for a couple more seconds. Everyone could tell she was deep in thought.

"Mmmm…I think that would be ok." She finally answered.

Tony, Ziva, Abby, Ducky, and McGee all smiled in relief.

"This calls for a celebration!" Abby said lifting her Caf-Pow.

"After we finish the case Abs." Gibbs said waking in unannounced like he always did.

"Thanks boss." Tony said. Gibbs knew the meaning went much deeper though.

"Don't mention it DiNozzo." He said tousling Bella's curls making her giggle. "And if its ok with everyone I'd like to get back to the now." He said sarcastically.

"Well you know what means kiddo." Tony said with his famous grin.

"What?" Ziva and Isabella said in unison.

"Another parent/teacher conference."

**So now everything is finally resolved! Yay! But things are just heating up! Stay tuned for more adventures for Tony, Ziva, Bella and the rest of the team. There may be a possible case that could have our little Isabella in danger O_O! **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well guys I'm sorry it's been a few since I've updated. I've been sick with the awful flu bug bleh :p Now I'm officially recovered and it gave me inspiration for this next chapter! :] Remember reviews make the world go round. :D **

**Disclaimer: If I owned NCIS there would be no more of these jealousy Tiva arcs! **

Miracle

A couple days had passed since the parent/teacher conference. Everything had been resolved and Isabella didn't have to skip a grade, or go to the AP classes until the next year. She was still nervous about that, but Mrs. Hurley had reassured her that Mrs. Delgado-the AP third grade teacher-was excellent and she would have tons of fun. She still needed some more convincing but it would have to wait.

Now Isabella was in bed on a Thursday night, tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable. Her head hurt, she had an ugly cough, and really bad chills. Nahla could sense her uncomfortableness and was getting uneasy. Finally, she jumped off the bed and trotted down the hall to Tony and Ziva's room, pushing the door open with her front paws. Once she was in the room, she took turns licking the sleeping duo, urging them to get out of bed and follow her.

"Ugh, Nahla, go away, I need sleep." Tony said burying himself under the covers.

"Nahla out," Ziva said pointing towards the door, angry that the family dog disturbed her sleep.

Nahla was not going to leave unless one of them followed her. She kept on urging them towards the door whining ever so slightly. Finally, Ziva got the hint.

"Tony I think something is wrong." Ziva said getting up and putting on her robe and slippers.

"She probably can't find her bone again Ziva just come back to bed," Tony said still buried under the covers. Ziva rolled her eyes, and followed Nahla to Bella's room. Bella was sound asleep, but moving around uneasily.

"Isabella, are you alright my love?" Ziva asked softly kneeling down over the bed to feel Bella's forehead.

Isabella shuddered at Ziva's touch and opened her eyes. "Mama, I don't feel good." She said, her voice raspy from the cough.

"Wait here ok? I'm going to get the thermometer and some medicine."

Before going downstairs to get the medicine and thermometer from the medicine cupboard, she went to her room to wake up Tony.

"Tony, get up." Ziva said yanking the covers off of a sleeping Tony.

"Ziva! It's cold! Let me sleep!"

"Tony, Isabella is sick. She has a cough and I'm pretty sure she has a fever."

Tony was up in a nanosecond. He threw on some sweats and raced downstairs to get Bella her medicine. Ziva smirked knowing his daughter was the only one who could get him out of bed that fast. She went back to Bella's room to try and keep her comfortable until the she took the medicine.

"Mama, my head hurts and I'm cold." Isabella said in between coughs.

"I know my love. Daddy's downstairs getting you some medicine ok?" Ziva said sitting at the edge of the bed and caressing Bella's loose curls. Even in the dimly lit room, Ziva could tell that Bella looked pale. Moments later, Tony entered the room, thermometer, children's Tylenol, children's cough syrup, Vicks Vapor Rub, and a Pedialyte Popsicle in hand.

"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?" he asked softly. Bella coughed in response, her green eyes droopy and tired.

"Ok time for Dr. Dad to work his magic. Open wide." Tony said placing the thermometer in Bella's mouth. While they waited for the results, Ziva rubbed the Vicks on Bella's chest to give some relief for the congestion, while Tony readied the Tylenol and cough syrup. A few minutes later the thermometer beeped.

"102.3," Ziva said reading the results. Bella groaned.

"Ah, it's ok kiddo. A couple doses of Daddy's magic medicine and you'll be good to go." Tony said trying to cheer Isabella up. She nodded in respone.

"Ok my love, take these and you'll be able to sleep soon," Ziva said handing the little cups of medicine to Bella. She drank them quickly making faces of disgust, not really appreciating the taste of medicine even if it was cherry flavored.

"And here is your popsicle, milady." Tony said handing the popsicle over dramatically. Bella's eyes widened a bit, happy to have a pleasant taste in her mouth. Ziva got up for a moment and returned with a wet washcloth to put on Bella's forehead to try and help bring her fever down.

Bella moaned, not liking the coldness on her.

"I know you do not like it my love, but it will help bring the fever down." Ziva said softly.

"But I'm really cold Mama," Isabella said softly. She tried to put on a brave front, but she couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears and began to cry.

"Oh come here my love, it will be ok," Ziva said picking Isabella up, rubbing her back to try and soothe her.

"Can you sleep with me tonight Mama?" Isabella asked in between coughs.

"Of course my love."

"Well, looks like Nahla's gonna be my sleeping partner tonight." Tony said sighing. Ziva chuckled. "Well I bid you two wonderful ladies good night, and I shall see you in the morning." They said their good night's, and off they went to bed, Ziva with Isabella, and Tony with Nahla.

Ziva walked around with Isabella a little longer, then finally sat in the rocking chair that Isabella absolutely loved. It was hers' and Ziva's "bonding chair" as Tony liked to call it. As a baby, if Bella was fussy or when Ziva was nursing, they would sit in the chair, staring into eachothers' eyes for hours, rocking back and forth ever so slightly. Ziva wanted to enjoy every moment she could with Isabella in the chair. Even though the chair was fairly large, they knew Bella was bound to grow out of it. She was a little on the small side for her age, but all children grow up sooner or later. Plus, the fact that Gibbs had made the chair himself made it extra special.

As Ziva rocked back and forth with Bella in her lap, did she barely realize the faint sounds coming from Bella's stereo. She rolled her eyes playfully when she heard the familiar voice of Celine Dion playing. Bella loved hearing _Miracle_, Celine's album of soft lullabies, as she went to bed every night. Ziva hummed along with the melody, then, softly sang along with the words.

_My precious one, my darling one  
Don't let your lashes weep  
My cherished one, my weary one  
It's time to go to sleep  
Just bow your head  
And give your cares to me  
Just close your eyes  
And fall into the sweetest dream  
Cuz in my loving arms  
You're safe as you will ever be  
So hush my dear and sleep_

Before she knew it, Bella had fallen fast asleep once again. The coughing had somewhat subsided and her body felt a little cooler, indicating that the medicine had started to kick in. Ziva got up slowly from the rocking chair, careful not to disturb Bella, tucked her into bed, and then situated herself on the other side of the full-size bed. Even though Bella was in a deep sleep, Ziva stayed awake listening to the rest of the CD. One peaceful song after another came on but one came up that caught Ziva's attention. She had only listened to the CD a couple of times, but never to really sit there and listen to the words. Slight tears filled her eyes as she listened to the lyrics.

_You're my life's one miracle  
Everything I've done that's good  
And you break my heart with tenderness  
And I confess it's true  
I never knew a love like this 'til you  
You're the reason I was born, now I finally know for sure  
And I'm overwhelmed with happiness  
So blessed to hold you close  
The one that I love most  
Though the future has so much for you in store  
Who could ever love you more?_

She got the remote that went with the stereo and replayed the song until she knew the words by heart.

_The nearest thing to heaven  
You're my angel from above  
Only God creates such perfect love  
When you smile at me, I cry  
And to save your life I'd die  
With a romance that is pure in heart  
You are my dearest part  
Whatever it requires  
I live for your desires  
Forget my own, your needs will come before  
Who could ever love you more?_

She looked over at a sleeping Isabella and dedicated that song to her forevermore. She sang the last phrase of the song softly to Bella before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep; next to the reason she was born, her angel, her Miracle.

_There is nothing you could ever do  
To make me stop loving you  
And every breath I take  
Is always for your sake  
You sleep inside my dreams and know for sure  
Who could ever love you more?_

**A/N: Again, sorry it's taken me a little longer to update! I actually started writing it while I was stuck in bed, but I just didn't have the energy to finish it. Plus it made like no sense at all and I had to go back and practically re-write everything so I'm sorry if a lot stuff doesn't make sense! I guess all the medicine made me a little loopy haha. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter! I love Celine's album Miracle, and those two songs from the album are called My Precious One and Miracle. Check it out sometime! Mother's, I promise you'll love it as well! Bear with me on the Celine stuff. I promise she'll only be mentioned or incorporated into the story every couple of chapters so y'all won't get an overload lol. I don't know if this chapter can be classified as a songfic or not though…hmm…One last thing I'd like to add, even at 19, a mother's touch can still be very comforting when you're sick lol. Give me a little bit of time to update for the next chapters. I've been on another school overload bleh! Hope y'all are having as much fun reading as I am writing :]**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Ok everyone I am back and in need of a little help. I'm having some trouble coming up with the angsty slash case file slash adventure stuff for the later chapters. I don't want to mention any spoilers on here so if anyone would be interested in helping me out it would be so greatly appreciated! My email is jennymval_ so again if you're interested contact me as soon as you can and I'll let you in on all the spoilers so we can brainstorm :] Thanks again for the reviews, alerts, etc. They make the world go round :]**

**Disclaimer: No I don't own NCIS sheesh. **

It was Saturday now and Bella had finally recovered from the flu. She still had a slight cough, but other than that she was back to her old self.

She woke up earlier than usual on Saturday morning. She had spent all of Friday sleeping and recovering, that she was sick of being in bed (haha).

"Good morning Nahla." Bella said patting the lazy dog. "Mmmm I smell food! Come on lets go see what Mama made for breakfast today." She jumped off the bed, slipped on her Bert slippers, and went to the bathroom before she went downstairs. When she came out, Nahla was patiently waiting for her outside the door. "Come on Nahla, food time!" Nahla barked in response. Bella giggled and they both trotted down the stairs letting their noses lead the way.

Before she entered the kitchen she hid behind one of the walls and turned on her slippers so they could make their "special" noises. Since Ziva banned her from wearing them out in public, Isabella definitely made the most out of them at home. She poked her head inside the kitchen to make sure her parents weren't paying attention. Tony and Ziva were busily making breakfast and chatting about a recent case so they didn't notice Isabella at all. She waited for the right moment and then stepped forward making one of the slippers fart. Tony and Ziva jumped a little, surprised at hearing the noise.

"Must you do that while we are in the kitchen Tony?" Ziva said furrowing her brows at Tony.

"Hey, that wasn't me! If anything it was probably you!" Tony answered defensively.

"I do not pass gas in the kitchen." Ziva said narrowing her eyes.

"Oh come on don't act like your farts smell like roses." Tony said smiling.

Hearing her parents go back and forth, accusing one another of farting in the kitchen sent Isabella into a little fit of laughter. Ziva and Tony stuck their heads out of the kitchen, surprised to see her rolling around laughing.

"A-ha!" Tony exclaimed. "You little sneaky DiNozzo you," he said running over to her and picking her up.

"I got you and Mama good, huh Daddy." Isabella said smiling her DiNozzo grin.

"I will never forgive Abby for giving you those slippers." Ziva said swatting Isabella's bottom playfully. Bella giggled.

"So I see you're feeling better there kiddo." Tony said.

"Uh-huh! Lots better!"

"I am glad you are feeling better my love." Ziva said returning to cooking.

"Me too! So what are you making me for breakfast today?" Isabella asked peeking over the stove.

"Well, I decided to try something a little different." Ziva said.

Bella's green eyes widened. "That looks like the stuff that Rosie makes me!" Rosie-short for Rosalinda-was Isabella's babysitter. She was a 20 year old, Latin, college student who was studying to be a child psychologist. She definitely got a lot of practice with the daughter of a crazy, goofball and a former assassin. Because Rosie was half Mexican and half Spaniard, she was constantly making different Mexican and Spanish dishes for the family.

"What's it called again? Chile killies or what?" Tony asked.

"Chilaquiles." Bella and Ziva answered.

Chilaquiles was one of Rosie's specialities. It was a Mexican dish that was a combination of corn tortillas, chorizo, and scrambled eggs. It was different than the kind made at the restaurants. Rosie swore the kind she made were much better.

"Mmm my favorite!" Bella said happily.

A little while later, the food was ready and the family of 3 sat down to eat their Saturday morning breakfast. They ate comfortably keeping a light conversation. Tony and Bella, as always, gobbled down their first servings and went back for seconds.

"You make really good chilaquiles Mama." Bella said in between bites.

"Thank you my love." Ziva said, pleased that she had mastered at least one of Rosie's famous dishes.

While they were eating their second portions, they heard the front door open. It wasn't unusual though. Rosie was the only other person who had an extra key to the house.

"Rosie!" Bella said jumping out of her seat and running into Rosie's arms.

"Hey there Mamas!" Rosie exclaimed.

Rosie was more than just a babysitter, she was like apart of the family. Ziva was a little bit apprehensive of her first because she was so young. She was only 18 when she started working for them and into her first semester in college. Ziva wasn't sure a teenager was capable of handling her very energetic 5 year old at the time, and wanted someone with more experience. Tony convinced her to just see how everything went for a few weeks and if it didn't work out, they could look for someone else. Bella ended up loving Rosie and begged her mom to let Rosie stay. Eventually, Ziva began to trust Rosie more and more. A couple of months after she started babysitting, both of her parents died in a terrible car accident that left her, and her four younger siblings orphaned. Being the oldest, Rosie had no choice but to step up. She put her college career on hold for a semester to take care of her family and try to find a relative that would take in her, at the time, 4 and 10 year old sisters, and 8 and 9 year old brothers. Thankfully her aunt from her dad's side stepped in and took custody of all 4 kids. The only down side was that she lived in Philadelphia. Rosie didn't like it, but she knew that the only way her siblings could stay together was if they moved. She wasn't prepared to take on the responsibility of becoming a mother to her younger and sisters, so she had no choice but to have them move away to stay together, so, her aunt took custody of the kids, she sold her parents' house, and divided the money equally to each of her siblings in their savings and accounts, and used the rest to find an apartment and for college.

After the whole ordeal, Ziva realized that Rosie was so much more mature and responsible than she realized. Because she was still so young, Tony and Ziva brought it upon themselves to help Rosie get back on her feet. They helped her get a car, and even upped her paycheck so she could afford to pay all of her bills. Rosie couldn't have been more humble or greatful.

"Guess what?" Isabella said dramatically.

"What?" Rosie said in an equal dramatic way.

"Mama made chilaquiles…and they were good!"

"Wow, I am utterly impressed." Rosie said turning to Ziva, giving her a thumbs-up. Ziva had attempted to try and cook some of Rosie's other dishes without any success. This was the first that actually tasted the way it was supposed to.

"It's true Rose. This one actually tasted good." Tony said chuckling. Ziva smacked him.

"So did you all get a last minute case?" Rosie asked setting Bella down.

"No, not today, thankfully. I actually asked you to come for me." Ziva said.

"Aw a little girls day out." Tony said making a kissy face. Ziva smacked him again.

"As a matter of fact, Abby will be joining us too." Ziva said.

"Can I go too!" Bella asked her green eyes widening.

Ziva sighed. "Not today my love. I do not want you to get sick again."

Bella's lower lip stuck out. "Aw come on kiddo! Don't be sad. You and me are gonna have a movie day!" Tony said trying to cheer Bella up.

"I don't want a movie day." Bella said crossing her arms and furrowing her brows.

"What about a Celine Dion DVD day?" Rosie said.

Bella cocked her head to the side as if she was deep in thought. "Mmm…ok!" Rosie, Tony and Ziva all laughed. Ten minutes later, Ziva and Rosie were out the door and headed the local Starbucks where they were meeting Abby. They drove in Rosie's car since she wanted to actually get to the coffee shop in one piece.

When they arrived 20 minutes later, Abby was waiting at a table waiting patiently sipping on her Caf-Pow.

"Ziva!" Abby said giving Ziva a bone-crushing hug.

"Hello Abby." Ziva said struggling to breathe.

"Hey Rosie! I haven't seen you in a while how are you?" Abby said giving Rosie and equal air depriving hug.

"Hey! I've been good, just busy with school and taking care of Bella." Rosie said when Abby finally released her from her death hug. Rosie and Ziva ordered their coffee and sat down with Abby at their table.

"Ok Ziva, stop beating around the bush and tell us why you brought us here. I literally woke up at 5am this morning 'cause I've been driving myself crazy wondering what you wanted to talk to us about." Abby said.

Ziva sighed and folded her hands together while she gathered her thoughts.

"Oh my God, it's not Bella is it?" Abby said making Ziva and Rosie jump.

"Abby, no, it is nothing like that at all."

"Whew! Ok good, continue." Abby said smiling. Rosie chuckled.

"Well as both of you know," Ziva started, "Tony and I have been together for a very long time now but, we still have not, um, how do you say it, tied the rope?"

"Knot." Rosie said, then gasped. "You mean?"

"Oh…my…God." Abby said slowly.

Ziva nodded smiling.

"Ah! Finally!" "Well it took you guys long enough!" "When, where?" Abby and Rosie started talking and shouting all at once.

Ziva chuckled. "To answer your questions, we were actually planning on making it official when we go back to Paris this summer, but since not everyone will be able to go, we want to have a small ceremony when we get back."

"Paris…how romantic." Abby said dreamily. "I knew something had to happen between you and Tony the first time you guys were there." Ziva smiled slyly. She never revealed to anyone what actually happened while they were there. It was for her and Tony to know and for everyone else to let their imaginations wander.

"Ziva DiNozzo…well it does have a nice ring to it." Rosie said smiling. They chatted for about another hour talking about how excited they were about the wedding. Ziva could not have been happier. She was finally going to be married with her soulmate in the most romantic city in the world, she had an amazing daughter, and all the support in the world from her friends. What could possibly go wrong?

**A/N: Ok so that last remark should be an indication that something definitely is going to go wrong in the chapters to come haha. So again if anybody would be interested in helping me out, please do not hesitate to email me! :]**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So it's been a few I apologize. My request for help went unnoticed boo hoo. So I decided to try and just come up with what I could by myself. I'm still in need of help though so pleeeaaaaaaaaase do not hesitate to email me jennymval_. **

**Disclaimer: No NCIS is not mine. **

Secrets

It was another typical day at the office for Tony, Ziva and the rest of the NCIS gang. They had a case, followed up on leads, received a few head smacks from Gibbs every now and then, and tried to do everything they could so they wouldn't have a late night and then have do it all over again the next day on about 4 hours of sleep.

That particular Monday, Ziva was out with Gibbs while Tony was in the bullpen chit chatting away with McGee, trying to prove to him that his hunch on the case was right.

"I'm telling you McGoo, it's the ex-wife. She had all the motive in the world!"

"No, no my money's on the current girlfriend, she knew he was loaded from the very beginning."

Tony opened his mouth to argue some more, but was interrupted by his cell phone ringing.

"DiNozzo." He answered cockily.

"Tony, its Rosie."

"Oh hey how's it going is everything all right?" Rosie never called Tony and Ziva while they were at work when she was babysitting unless it was a matter of extreme importance. Tony was immediately worried.

"Um, yea me and Bella are fine. I just picked her up from school and she's doing her homework right now."

"Oh ok well what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, uh, I don't know exactly how to say this…" Rosie was getting nervous.

"Come on Rosie if it wasn't important, you wouldn't have called." Tony was getting slightly annoyed.

"You seem to have uh, um a guest here at the house." Rosie finally spat out.

"Well Rosie you know Bella has her little friends over all the time, it's totally fine with me and Ziva, you don't have to call to let us know," Tony started.

"No Tony, it's not like that. She says she needs help and that she needs to go to NCIS."

"What?" Tony was more confused than ever now.

"She just showed up like 20 minutes ago! She rang the doorbell and,"

"Just bring her here ASAP! You can tell me everything when you get here." Tony said anxiously. He hung up the phone and immediately dialed Gibbs' cell.

"Gibbs we got a problem…no it doesn't have anything to do with this case…well the babysitter called and said that this girl showed up at our house saying she needed to be taken to NCIS…I don't know I told her to tell me when she got here…yea sorry 'bout that Boss, this one's on me…*smacks himself on the back of the head*…yea me and McGee will be on it once she gets here…"

"What was that all about?" McGee asked.

Tony sighed exasperatedly.

"That bad huh?" McGee said trying to lighten the mood. Tony gave him a look.

Twenty minutes later, Gibbs and Ziva returned from their field work. Ziva immediately wanted answers.

"Is Bella ok? Where is she?" Ziva asked worriedly.

"Bella's fine, Rosie's been on her way, but she's stuck in traffic so she might be another 15 minutes." Tony said.

They all waited patiently trying to stay focused on the current case, but didn't really have any luck. Gibbs left for a coffee break, leaving Tony, Ziva, and McGee to wait and ponder away. After about 20 minutes of endless waiting, Bella finally emerged from the elevators.

"Mama, Daddy!" Bella exclaimed, her sandy curls bouncing as she ran into Ziva's arms.

"Hello my love!" Ziva said wrapping Bella in her arms protectively. "How was your day?"

"Good." Isabella still hadn't completely recovered from the previous parent/teacher conference. She had a hard time trusting Mrs. Hurley after that and didn't really talk about school as much. The only thing that kept her spirits high was the school musical. Apparently Mrs. Carroll was her new favorite teacher.

"Hey kiddo, come here and give your ole man a big hug!" Tony said kneeling down and opening his arms wide. Bella giggled and gave Tony a hug and a kiss. After that she went and greeted her Uncle McGee and skipped away to join her Aunt Abby in her lab.

"Where is Rosie?" Ziva asked. Before anyone could answer, the elevator dinged again and out came Rosie with a little girl behind her.

"Hi guys sorry, we had to get these visitors passes and they let Bella come up right away since they know her and," Rosie started but stopped when she realized everyone was staring at the little girl behind her.

"Hello." Ziva said warmly to the timid little girl. She looked about 8 years old, with chin length dirty-blonde hair, and great big blue eyes. A pink flowery duffel bag was slung on one shoulder, and a backpack on the other.

"What's your name?" McGee asked.

The little girl proceeded to stay silent. Ziva could tell she felt very uneasy.

"Why don't we go and get snack, yes?" Ziva said holding out her hand out. The little girl looked up at Ziva, and slowly took her hand.

When Ziva and the little girl were out of earshot, Tony practically pounced on Rosie, demanding to know everything about the mystery kid.

"What happened?" Tony said seriously.

"Well, after I gave Bella a snack, I heard the doorbell ring and she was there." Rosie answered calmly.

"Well how did she show up? Did you see a car drop her off? Was anyone else with her?" Tony asked.

"When I answered the car had already taken off. It was a cab. I didn't get the license plate."

Tony groaned. "Did she tell you her name?"

"No. I asked but all she said was that she needed to go to NCIS."

Tony sighed running his fingers through his hair in frustration. It was going to be a long night.

*NCIS*

Ziva sat with the little girl in the conference room, while she ate her candy bar, chips, and sipped her soda.

"You sure are hungry there." Ziva said. The little girl nodded. "When was the last time you had something to eat?"

The girl paused.

"Breakfast." She said softly.

Ziva was relieved. She finally spoke!

"Did you eat at your house?"

The girl shook her head no.

"Honey, I hope you understand that we are all here to help you." Ziva said softly placing her hand over the little girls'. "It would really help us if you could tell me your name."

The little girl stopped eating and looked up at Ziva, her blue eyes filling with tears.

"Karine." She said softly.

"That is a very nice name." Ziva said smiling. Karine returned the smile slightly.

"So, how old are you Karine?"

"Ten." Karine said continuing to munch on her snacks. "I'm small for my age."

Ziva chuckled.

"Karine, where did you eat breakfast at?"

"On the plane."

"So you do not live here in this area?"

Karine shook her head no. "I live far away."

"How far?"

"Europe."

Ziva raised her eyebrows. "Europe?" she asked.

Karine nodded. "I was born in New York, but then we went to Paris when I was 6."

"Who is we?" Ziva asked.

Karine immediately shut down again. "Me and Mom." She answered timidly. She pushed her snacks away and began to cry.

"Honey, please tell me what is wrong." Ziva said going over to the side of the table and kneeling in front Karine.

"I just miss my mom." Karine said inbetween cries.

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know! She just said that she was in trouble and that I would be safer here."

"Here with whom? NCIS?" Ziva asked.

Karine nodded. "She said you guys would protect me here. I just wanna go home and be with her!" She threw herself into Ziva's arms and cried her heart out.

"Shh, there, we are going to figure everything out ok?" Ziva said soothingly.

As Karine cried in Ziva's arms, Ziva could not shake the uneasy feeling she still had. _'Why in the world did this little girl's mom send her to NCIS? Why did she not send her to the FBI? What is so special about NCIS? Does her mother know someone from here? How did she know where we lived? Why did she go to _our _house?'_ So many more questions, so many more unfulfilled answers.

**A/N: Whoo another cliffy! This was the best I could come up with without help. Hope y'all still enjoyed the chapter though! But if I want the story to go where I want it to go, I really really really really really need assistance! So again if anybody can help me out PLEASE email me! Gracias! Reviews make the world go round :]**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Beware there are more secrets and twists to come! If you think it's headed in one direction, I can guarantee you are probably wrong lol. So don't get disappointed or mad if you think it's one thing, just keep reading! **

**Disclaimer: NCIS is not mine duh. **

Hints and Possibilities

After Karine calmed down, Ziva gave her a rest. She knew she couldn't push her anymore. Gibbs had come back from his very long coffee break and wanted to know what was going on.

"Get anything out of her Ziva?" Gibbs asked when Ziva came out of the conference room.

"Not much. But we do know that she was on a plane coming from Paris all morning and she is very tired and misses her mother."

"So in other words, nothing." Gibbs said with a glare in his eye.

"Well I could ask McGee to check all incoming flights from this morning and see if he could backtrack from where her ticket was purchased from and by whom." Ziva said reassuringly.

"Do it." Gibbs said.

Ziva nodded her headed and practically ran back to the bullpen. When she was there, she relayed the message to McGee and away to work they went. Unfortunately, he didn't find much. The ticket was paid in cash, which proved that the mystery person was careful not to leave a trace.

"So for all we know Karine could be a fake name." Tony said aggravated that they had gotten nowhere.

"Tony I am sure Karine is her real name. Trust me, she was too scared to be lying." Ziva said.

"Where is she anyway?" McGee asked.

"Still in the conference room. She is playing with her Ipod device thing, and I ordered her some food. She certainly has a very large appetite." Ziva said.

"Why what'd she order?" McGee asked.

"A six-inch meatball marinara sandwich from Subway and the chicken nugget meal from McDonalds." Ziva answered.

"Geez are you kidding me? She has competition with Bella!" Tony exclaimed. Ziva and McGee couldn't agree more.

A half hour later, Karine's food arrived.

"Mmm that smells good." Tony said dreamily. He was obviously very hungry. "Is that meatball marinara? If it is, this little girl definitely has some good taste." Gibbs smacked the back of his head. Ziva and McGee smirked.

"Tony, take Karine her food." Gibbs said.

"Um, well I thought that Ziva was gonna take her the food Boss," Tony started. Gibbs gave him a look. "Right. I'm on it." Tony answered knowing full well Gibbs meant that it was his turn to try and get some answers out of Karine.

"And don't eat the food DiNozzo!" Gibbs called after Tony as he headed to the conference room.

*NCIS*

As he entered the conference room, Karine was sitting listening away to her Itouch while playing a game.

"Finally! I'm starving!" Karine exclaimed practically attacking Tony for the food.

"You sure have an appetite there. I'm Tony by the way." Tony said sitting down at the table.

Karine nodded taking a biet of her sandwich. "My mom says I have a fast metabolism. And I'm small for my age and I like to run and play a lot too. That's why I'm still skinny."

"So where is your mom?" Tony asked.

Karine continued to eat. "I don't know." She said slowly.

"Did she tell you why she didn't come here with you?"

Karine stopped eating for a few minutes. "Kinda…she said there was some bad people after us, and she wanted to keep me safe. I asked her why she couldn't come with me so we could both be safe, but she said she needed to figure a few things out first, whatever that means."

"What kind of bad people?" Tony asked.

"I don't know. I didn't even know bad people were after us." Karine said finishing up her sub and moving on to her fries from the McDonalds.

"Want some?" She said offering some food to Tony. "You look like you're about to drool."

"Alright. But don't tell my boss." Tony said. Karine giggled.

"So, what does your mom do for a living?"

"She's a doctor." Karine answered.

"Oh I see, a doctor. In Paris. How old were you when you moved to Paris again?" Tony asked.

"Six. I miss New York though. I didn't wanna move." Karine said sadly.

"Why did you move?"

"I have no idea! Mom said that they have better jobs in Europe and she would get paid more, which makes no sense at all 'cause we lived in Manhattan in a penthouse! I'm pretty sure we were pretty financially well off."

"Wow, you sure know a lot for a little girl." Tony said surprised.

"I'm ten but I'm not stupid." Karine said matter-of-factly. Tony chuckled.

"I take it you don't like Paris that much huh." Tony said.

"No I love Paris! But not to live. Just to visit and take vacations is fine. I miss New York. Coney Island in the summer, Madison Square Garden, The Central Park Zoo, Lady Liberty, New York Deep Dish Pizza! You can't get any better than the pizza." Karine said her blue eyes sparkling.

"Oh yeah, you can never go wrong with pizza." Tony said smiling. Karine smiled back.

"Have you been to New York Tony?" Karine asked.

"Well yes I have. Only a few times though. My dad lives there."

"I don't know who my dad is." Karine said softly.

"I'm sorry about that sweetheart." Tony said putting his hand over Karine's much smaller one.

"My mom says I remind her a lot of him. But then sometimes I do things that she has no idea where I get from." Karine said laughing. Tony laughed in response. She finally finished her food and went back to playing her game.

"Hey whatcha got there?" Tony asked.

"An Itouch. I got it for Christmas."

"Oooooh fancy."

"I know! I begged my mom for it. She finally gave in 'cause she kinda got tired of hearing Ole Blue Eyes playing on my stereo at all hours of the night."

"You like Sinatra?" Tony exclaimed his eyes widening.

"Pssh yea! How can anyone not like Frank Sinatra? He's a classic!" Karine said smiling.

"You have to be one of the coolest kids I know. Up top!" Tony said motioning Karine to give him a high-five. She returned the gesture by slapping her little hand into his big one.

As Tony and Karine continued to talk and drift further away from why she was there in the first place, Tony couldn't help but feel drawn to her, as if he had known her forever. She reminded him of someone, but then again it kind of scared him to think about it.

*NCIS*

While Gibbs and McGee were up in MTAC trying to tie up the loose ends from the case before Karine arrived, Ziva decided to go down to the lab with Abby, Bella and Rosie.

"Mama!" Bella exclaimed running into Ziva's arms.

"Hello my love." Ziva said placing a kiss on Bella's cheek. "Are you having fun with Aunt Abby and Rosie?"

"Uh-huh. Aunt Abby was showing me and Rosie some of her cool science stuff! And then I showed them the dance that I was gonna do in the musical! I have to practice a lot. It's already next month!" Bella said dramatically.

"Well I am sure you are doing great." Ziva said reassuringly. "So what are you doing in Mrs. Hurley's class?"

"Oh…just the same stuff." Isabella's tone had obviously changed.

"Hey why don't you like Mrs. Hurley anymore?" Abby asked. "I thought she was like your favorite teacher?"

Isabella shrugged.

"You know my love, she only wanted you to move to the other class because she cares about you." Ziva said.

"I guess." Isabella said still not convinced. Ziva decided to drop the subject. Right now, she had to focus on the case. She told Rosie to take Bella home, as she didn't want her daughter to stay late again, especially on a weekday. They said their goodbye's and off home they went. As soon as they were gone, Abby wanted to know everything about the little girl and the details of the case.

"Seriously, how could a mother send her daughter clear across the world, all by herself?" Abby exclaimed.

"Honestly, I have no idea Abby. I would never do that to Isabella." Ziva said.

"Poor thing must be so scared." Abby said sadly.

"She is. You know, I cannot put my hand on it, but I could not help but think that she reminded me of someone." Ziva said tilting her head deep in thought.

"Finger."

"Right."

"So who did she remind you of?" Abby asked curiously.

"I do not know…someone."

"Well it had to be someone you know if the girl took a cab to your house Ziva, I mean, random little girls don't just show up at the houses of federal agents and ask for help."

"I think it is someone we know Abby." Ziva said slowly.

"Who?"

"Someone from Tony's past…"

Abby stayed quiet for a few minutes thinking. "How old is the little girl again?"

"Ten."

Abby shut her eyes tightly thinking really hard. After a few moments she gasped, her green eyes turning to saucers. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Because if you are, then I totally wanna kill Tony right now." Abby said talking really fast.

Ziva's face tensed. She didn't wanna think about the awful possibility but she had to find out one way or another. The truth was about to reveal itself.

"Me too Abby, me too."

**A/N: Of course I would leave y'all with another cliffy. :] Again if you think it's headed in one direction, be prepared to be thrown off! A big shout out to those that helped me and gave me some great ideas! It is very much appreciated. ;D **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey all! I'm back from my hiatus! I'm so sorry it took so long for me to finally update! School was very stressful but all the all-nighters finally paid off. I am officially on summer break and boo-hoo the finale of NCIS came and went. I personally loved it! Since I'm already feeling new episode withdrawals, I thought it was the best time to update to keep myself sane for the time being. Thanks for hanging in there everyone! :]**

**Disclaimer: If NCIS was mine, there would be no EJ or CI-Ray! **

Truth

"You super-glued his fingers to the keyboard?" Karine said laughing. She was very entertained by Tony's stories about all the pranks he pulled on McGee.

"Oh yeah. Boss-man was a little irritated but it was worth it." Tony said smiling his mischievous grin. The more time he spent with her, the more he started to like Karine. Just then Gibbs walked in the conference room.

"A minute DiNozzo." Gibbs said sternly stepping out in the hallway. He waited until they were out of earshot from Karine to tell Tony what he needed to hear.

"DiNozzo, what are you doing?" Gibbs said. He was very irritated.

"I was just making her feel comfortable Boss, you know."

"Well while you were making her feel comfortable, did you get anything out of her that would actually be useful?" When Gibbs used sarcasm, it meant he was on the verge of headslapping someone really, really hard.

"Well, no I was just um getting to that part…" Tony had tensed his body, awaiting for the headslap that was sure to come at any moment.

Gibbs gave him his famous stare. "You got an hour DiNozzo." He said softly but sternly, then walked back to the bullpen, leaving a very relieved Tony behind.

*NCIS*

"Abby you must do it!" Ziva said. She was down in the lab with Abby and trying to convince her to do something that neither of them liked, but knew it was necessary.

"Ziva, no! I can't do it! I won't! I am not getting involved in your marital problems with Tony." When she wanted to Abby could hold her ground just as much as the ex-Mossad officer.

"Oh now you do not want to get involved," Ziva said rolling her eyes.

"This time it's different and you know it! I'm only going to do it if it's absolutely necessary and relevant to the case."

"Abby this is relevant to the case!"

"How is secretly running Karine's DNA against Tony's to see if he's the father at all relevant?" Ziva gave Abby a look. "Ok well it's kind of relevant but that's not the point! That's something I think you should ask Tony about first. I love you guys and I love you guys together and I would hate for something like this to break you guys apart. Do you know how long I waited for you and Tony to finally kiss? And then Bella being born, and come on, you guys are getting married in PARIS! No, no no NO! Not happening, not on my watch!" Abby was talking a mile a minute now.

"Your watch? I don't understand," Ziva said clearly confused.

"That doesn't matter but right now what does matter is that you need to go talk to Tony and discuss this with him! I'm only running DNA if you BOTH agree on it or if Gibbs tells me otherwise." There was no negotiating with Abby anymore.

"Fine." Ziva said. She was irritated, but she knew Abby was right. Before she could walk out of the lab, she was left with one of her friends' famous hugs.

*NCIS*

"Whoa you scored two goals?" Tony was still chattering away with Karine, trying to think of a way to ease in the harder questions.

"Yea! It was totally worth missing my ballet recital! I didn't have to wear that awful tutu ew." Karine said making a face. She preferred soccer or any other sport to ballet any day.

"Well isn't that something? So you don't like Swan Lake?" Tony said chuckling.

"Not a chance! But gymnastics is pretty fun. I like that better than ballet. You get to do flips. That's the only time I'll wear a leotard though. Other than that, my cleets are my favorite pair of shoes. Oh and my slippers if those count as shoes." Karine said giggling.

Just then, the door to the conference room opened. "Tony may I have a minute with you?" It was Ziva.

"Um sure." Tony said getting up from the table and headed towards the door. "I'll be back in a bit, just sit tight." He said reassuring Karine.

"Hey what's up?" Tony said when they were out in the hallway. The door hadn't been shut all the way and only opened a crack.

"Tony have you been completely honest with me?" Ziva said, a look of sadness and anger in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Tony said. He was very confused.

"I think you know what I am talking about."

"Actually Ziva, I have no idea what you're talking about right now."

"Tony when was the last time you slept with her?" Ziva couldn't take it anymore. She needed answers now.

"What are you talking about? Slept with who?" Tony could not have been more confused or shocked.

"With Jeanne!"

Tony's face tensed. He couldn't believe his ears. "Ziva…" he said in a whisper.

Ziva's eyes were now watering. She hated that she even had to ask such a question.

"Tony, please I need to know!"

Just before Tony could open his mouth to answer, the door to the conference room opened. Ziva immediately wiped her eyes so Karine wouldn't see.

"Sorry, I have to go the bathroom." Karine said looking a little embarrassed.

"I will show you where it is." Ziva said taking her hand, leaving a still stunned and hurt Tony behind.

*NCIS*

"Hey Ziva," Karine said while she was washing her hands.

"Yes?" Ziva asked.

"How much longer do I have to stay here?"

"I do not know…" Ziva said patting the little girls head.

Karine sighed and then turned off the water so she could dry her hands. Before they left the bathroom she stopped and stared at Ziva. "Is Tony your boyfriend?"

Ziva smirked. "Why would you ask that?" She said smiling.

"Cos you kind of fight like you're boyfriend and girlfriend. I hear my sister talk about that stuff with my mom sometimes when she calls. It's weird, I thought that name was so uncommon here. In Paris it was kind of common, but for guys not girls. Anyway, I'm getting kind of hungry again do you think you can get me another," Karine started but was off by Ziva.

"Wait, wait, what name are you talking about?" Ziva said. She was getting very curious and suspicious.

"The name Jeanne." Karine said matter-of-factly.

"Your mother's name is Jeanne?" Ziva's face tensed and her heart began to beat very rapidly.

Karine giggled. "No silly. That's my sister. Jeanne, Jeanne Benoit."

**A/N: I bet I fooled a lot of you didn't I? :] Mwahahaha! Anyhow I promise most of the stuff will be resolved in the next few chapters and you may or may not actually see the return of Jeanne even though she was mentioned. I haven't decided yet. I think it would cause waaay too much drama even if it is fanfiction. And if you're wondering my story is slight AU. EJ and CI Ray do not exist and Tony and Ziva got together in mid-season 7 and Bella didn't arrive until the end of season 8, just to sort of clarify everything. Thanks for keeping up with this story! I promise I will not take so long to update ever again! **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Ok I'm having a little bit of a writer's block but I was determined to update and not take like 5 months to update! Hope y'all are enjoying still :]**

**Disclaimer: No NCIS characters are not mine for the thousandth time. **

Truth 2

Ziva could not believe her ears. She didn't know whether to jump for joy, or still be angry that the little girl was still connected to Jeanne. Either way, she was definitely relieved that Karine was not Tony's long lost lovechild.

"Your sister is Jeanne Benoit?" Ziva said after the longest ten seconds of her life.

"Yup. I haven't seen her in like a year though, and I have talked to her for like 2 months. Why, do you know her?" Karine started to get confused.

"Um…well…we'll talk about that later." Ziva said taking Karine's hand and leading her back to the conference room.

*NCIS*

"Gibbs no! Why?" Abby had just gotten the request from Gibbs that she had been trying to avoid.

"I know Abbs." Gibbs said trying to be as patient as possible.

"Do you know what this could do their marriage? Or future marriage? It will ruin it Gibbs, RUIN IT!" Abby was on a caffeine overload and was getting practically hysterical at having to run Karine's DNA against Tony's.

"It won't ruin it Abbs. I promise." Gibb said reassuringly. If Tony and Ziva could survive through the whole Rivkin slash Somalia fiasco, they could survive through anything. Besides, his famous gut was telling him something different.

Abby threw her arms around Gibbs, needing more than words for just comfort. After a few seconds, she stepped back and looked sternly at Gibbs. "Just so we're clear Gibbs, I'm not doing this for you or for the relevance of the case. I'm doing it for Karine."

"I know Abby." Gibbs said heading back up to the bullpen with his famous sideway smirk.

*NCIS*

"How come you got so weird all of a sudden?" Karine asked Ziva while they were back in the conference room. "Of course I know you're not going to tell me though, whatever. Hey where'd Tony go?"

Ziva wanted to know the same thing. "I am not sure. Just sit loose I will be back in few minutes." With that, Ziva left the conference room again and headed to the men's restroom.

Karine raised an eyebrow. "Sit loose?" she asked.

*NCIS*

"Ugh McGee how could it get to this point? I hate to say this because it's not really her fault at all, but none of this would have happened until the little showed up. Ugh! How could I say such a thing? I sound like I'm a child hater now! Oh Timmy I just don't want Tony and Ziva to break up! They're just so great together and with everything that they've been through and having such a beautiful little girl. Think how this will effect Bella if they break up! She's going to have to split her time between her two parents and then have to choose who she wants to live with full time and…" Abby was rambling on and on about what could happen. Poor McGee was trying his best to comfort her and calm her down but he wasn't having much luck. The best thing he could do was to keep providing her with Caf-Pows.

"Abbs, everything is going to be ok. I'm sure that whatever happens, Tony and Ziva will work everything out. Do you really think that they'd put Isabella through a break up like that?" McGee was trying to reason with Abby.

"You're right. And if they do, then I'm suing for custody!" Abby said jokingly. McGee smiled.

They chatted on for another while, while Abby waited as patiently as she could for the DNA sample to come back.

"Abby, I hate to leave, but I really gotta get back to my desk. I'm already behind on my paperwork and…BEEP BEEP BEEP!" McGee was interrupted by Abby's computer, sounding off on the sample.

Abby and McGee stared wide-eyed at the computer screen, too shocked to say anything at what the DNA sample revealed. After about 6 seconds of silence, McGee finally spoke.

"Well, um, that's…something…"

"OhmyGod…" Abby muttered. Then, she and McGee bolted out of their chairs and into the office to call the rest of the team and give them the news.

*NCIS*

"Damn it!" Tony muttered. Just as he was about to dry up his hands, he found that the paper towel dispenser was empty. He was already in a foul mood as it was, so he relieved a bit of his anger and hurt but smacking the dispenser.

"You know if you break that, I am sure they will take it out of your paycheck." Ziva said from the doorway.

Tony didn't say anything. He looked at her sternly from the mirror and then turned to face her.

"Tony, I know what you are going to say," Ziva started.

"No I don't think you do Ziva." Tony replied. His voice was a mixture of anger and hurt. His green eyes were no different. "How could you even ask me something like that?"

"Tony I,"

"No Ziva! Let me finish! Yes, I had a thing with Jeanne once, a very long time ago. But it also ended a very long time ago! Don't you think I would have told you if I _thought_ I had some secret love-child with her? I would have! But guess what? I never had to tell you, because I don't!" His face was now inches away from hers.

"I know Tony." Ziva said softly. She knew she was wrong to accuse. She didn't know why, but when it came to Jeanne, she always felt like she had to compete with her in some way. It was beyond silly to even think such things, but Ziva couldn't help but still feel insecure about that part of Tony's life.

Just then, they were interrupted by Tony's cell.

"DiNozzo," He answered mechanically. "Yeah she's with me…we'll be right down," Tony said flipping his phone shut. "Abby's got something." He pushed past Ziva and made his way to the elevator, not even waiting for her to join him.

*NCIS*

"McGee where are they? They should be here by now!" Abby was pacing her lab, Caf-Pow in one hand, and Bert in the other.

" Abbs, you just called them like a minute ago." McGee said. He was trying to keep Abby calm, but inside, he was just as nervous.

"Big news like this can't wait Timmy! They should've been here like 30 seconds ago! And where is Gibbs? Usually he's the first one to be here when I find something!"

"Coffee refill Abbs." Gibbs said practically gliding with his coffee in one hand, and a fresh Caf-Pow in the other.

"Gibbs! You're here! Yay! Ok now I have to wait for Tony and Ziva."

"No, just Tony." Ziva said walking in. "I took the stairs, he took the elevator." No one dared to ask why they didn't ride or walk down together and they could tell Ziva was in no mood to talk about it.

"Seriously? Why does Tony have to be the last one in here for us to tell him that Karine's his..." McGee's nerves got the best of him. His eyes went wide and he clapped his hand over his mouth before he could say anything else. Abby smacked him on the shoulder.

"Finish your sentence Probie." Tony said angrily entering the lab.

Everyone stared at him. "Well?" Tony said impatiently.

"Um Tony, Karine does have a connection to you after all." Abby said. Ziva's face tensed. Tony stared at Abby in disbelief.

"How can that be? It doesn't add up…" Tony's mind was racing.

"It's not in the way that you think," Abby said pulling up the screen from the computer.

"Tony, Karine's your half-sister. She's your father's daughter."

**A/N: Yup, I went there. The drama is just beginning. **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I know most of you are probably thinking that this is way too soap opera like and the story is just going downhill. Trust me, just stay tuned. And I'm very sorry for this long hiatus. Major writers block and school are kicking my butt. **

**Disclaimer: No I don't own NCIS, just the characters that have nothing to do with the series for the 13****th**** time!**

Tragedy

Tony couldn't believe his ears. Did he hear right? Did he really have half-sister? Little did he know that that was only half the news.

"I think now I the time to share some more information." Ziva said quietly. "About 5 minutes ago while I was taking Karine to the restroom, she revealed to me that um, that Jeanne is her older sister."

"Jeanne as in Jeanne Benoit?" Abby said her eyes now wider than ever.

"And you were going to share this information when David?" Gibbs said looking at her sternly.

"As soon as we were all together." She said quietly her eyes never leaving Tony's.

Tony on the other hand was in complete shock. Did he hear right? Did he actually share a half-sister with Jeanne Benoit? He knew that had to be the craziest coincidence ever but nonetheless, it was true. He couldn't believe it. He needed to get away from everyone. He needed to take some time for himself, to figure things out and most importantly, inform his father of this new discovery, and somehow, bring him down to D.C.

"DiNozzo! You ok?" Gibbs finally snapped Tony out of his trance.

"I…um…I'll get back to you on that." With that, Tony left the lab. Ziva didn't even bother going after him. She knew he needed to be alone for a while.

*NCIS*

How could his life come to this? He thought his family was closer than this but obviously it wasn't. After all that that bastard Tony DiNozzo did to his family, he was going to make him pay. He would start by striking at his heart. He had been watching them for months now. He knew their routine like the back of his hand. Messing with her car was the easiest thing he could start off with. Break failure, it was like taking candy from a baby. If it didn't work though, he had a back-up plan. He would be waiting for her…

*NCIS*

"Hey Rosie, when's Mama and Daddy coming home?" Bella wasn't sure if one of her parent's would be home early to tuck her in now that her ballet class had finished and neither one of them had gone to relieve Rosie of her duties.

"I don't know sweetheart." Rosie said helping Isabella put on her jacket. She could see Bella's green eyes droop from sadness so she decided to perk things up. "Hey, I'm kind of feeling for some pizza right about now how about you?"

"Hmm…how about ice cream and donuts?" Isabella said her green eyes sparkling again.

"Ice cream? But it's freezing outside silly." Rosie said giggling. "How about we get some awesome hot chocolate and then pick up some Krispy Kreme's on the way home?"

"Yeah I like that idea better." Bella said smiling. Rosie knew she couldn't resist a Krispy Kreme. They walked hand in hand out of the dance studio and into Rosie's car.

While she drove the 10 minutes to the nearest Starbucks, she noticed she had to press a lot harder on her brake-pedal than she did a little while ago. '_What the hell?'_ she thought. '_I just barely got my brakes last week! Ugh. I'm never going back to that mechanic ever again that piece of #&*#&*$&!' _

"Rosie, are you ok?" Isabella said. She noticed she was mumbling to herself and looked quite angry.

"I'm fine sweetie don't worry. Let's just get our drinks and donuts ok?" Rosie said forcing a smile. Now she was starting to feel a little bit uneasy. She decided to take the longer way home. It was about 10 minutes longer than the original way she usually went, but she felt safer knowing the traffic on that particular road was practically dead after 7pm. After they got their hot chocolate and donuts they headed out as quickly as possible so they wouldn't get home too late. Tony and Ziva wouldn't be too happy if they found out that Bella was out past her bedtime.

While they were on the road, Rosie decided to drive a little faster to make sure Bella could get in some play time before she had to get ready for bed. The faster she went though, the harder she had to press on her brakes.

"Rosie you're going really fast. I feel like I'm on a roller coaster!" Bella said giggling.

"Or worse, I think I've spent too much time with your mother. Her driving skills are starting to rub off on me." Rosie said half-joking half being serious. As they approached the hill, she began to get nervous. Once her car started to go downhill, that's when it happened. Her brakes failed.

"Rosie slow down!" Bella said worriedly.

"Sit tight Isabella." Rosie said, her voice clearly in a panic. They were approaching the curve and even though she had taken her foot off the gas, she was still going about 50 miles an hour. "Oh my gosh…" she muttered as they approached the curve. Her eyes widened and she tightened her grip on the wheel. The last thing she heard before her world went black was a loud scream followed by a sickening crash.

*NCIS*

Ziva was now sitting at her desk. McGee was down in the lab with Abby and Gibbs was in the conference room trying to get more information out of Karine. All she could think about was Tony. No one knew where he was. He had been gone for a couple of hours.

"_How could you be so selfish and stupid and jealous Ziva?" _she thought. She had tried calling him a couple times on his cell but it had gone straight to voicemail. She sighed helplessly, and put her head in her hands. Slight tears began to fill her eyes.

"I'm losing my family…" she said softly. Just then, her cell phone rang. Thinking and hoping it might be Tony, she immediately wiped her eyes and put herself together.

"Ziva David." She answered.

"Hello Ms. David?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Yes, this is she, who is this?" Ziva asked.

"Yes, hi my name is Officer Stanley and I'm with the Washington D.C Police Department. I um, I really hate to say this ma'am but there was a really bad car accident and the young woman that was involved had your business card on in her wallet."

"OhmyGod what happened?" Ziva was now on her feet. A combination of fear and adrenaline began to seep through her body. "Are they all right?'

"Ma'am, we really need you to come down to Bethesda." The officer stated.

"No tell me right now is my daughter ok?" Ziva was now shouting and tears were filling her eyes again.

"Please Miss David, it would make it a lot easier if you would just come down to the hospital. Come in through the Emergency entrance and I'll be waiting for you. It would be best if you brought someone along with you too." He said calmly.

"Ok," Ziva whispered. She had a huge knot in her throat and her hands were shaking, but she was able to take the cell phone way from her ear and hang it up. Images of her daughter flashed through her mind. She looked at the picture frame she had on her desk and stared at it for what seemed like eternities. It was a picture of Tony, herself, and Bella at the NCIS Christmas party that year. They were standing in front of the Christmas tree, Tony holding Bella in one arm and his free arm around Ziva. None of them were looking at the camera. Abby had spiked the Egg-Nog (unbeknownst to McGee) and he had had one too many. He had attempted to show off his "dance moves" when he tripped over himself and knocked over poor Ducky who was also dressed up as Santa Clause. Abby had snapped the picture of the laughing trio just in time. Ziva loved that picture. She felt it showed the true essence of what their little family was all about. To think that it could all be taken away from her, she couldn't bear to think about it. She finally pulled herself together, grabbed her things, and headed for the hospital.

**A/N: Yes, yes I love cliffhangers. Again, I'm so so so so so so so sorry about the hiatus! With school taking up most of my time again and transferring and moving, well, it took up a lot more time than what I anticipated! But now that I'm settling into a routine, I'll be able to update more often. I'm thinking this story might be about 20-21 chapters long so I can have room for more drama and angst, and then resolve everything afterwards. Stay tuned! Thanks for sticking with me! **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Could it be? Another chapter in the same week? By golly it is! Y'all deserved that after my long hiatus haha and y'all may hate me after this chapter, but I decided to take the risk anyway. And just another thing, all the reviews and alerts really do make my day! Thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU! :D**

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep saying that I don't own NCIS?**

Tragedy 2

It had been a couple of hours since he had spoken to anyone. He didn't know what else to do. All he could do, was sit in his car and just simply think. He had turned off his phone so he couldn't be bothered even though he knew everyone would give him his space. He decided it was finally time to turn it back on though, and call the mother of his child and his future wife, and finally talk. Before he even had a chance to dial Ziva's number, her name popped up on his phone, indicating he had an incoming call from her.

"Yeah," Tony answered.

"Tony where are you?" Ziva asked.

"Ziva, is everything ok?" Tony could tell by the tone in her voice that something was definitely wrong.

"Tony you need to come meet me at the hospital right away. Rosie and Bella, they were…they were in a car accident." Ziva's voice was overcome with emotion and she had a hard time finishing the sentence.

"What? Oh my God. When, where, are they all right?" Tony immediately turned the car on and started driving away from the spot where he had parked near the park.

"I do not know. I just got the call about 10 minutes ago and I've been trying to get ahold of you. I already called Gibbs and told him what was going on." Ziva said, regaining control of her emotions.

"Where are you?" Tony said, a pang of guilt suddenly hitting him.

"I am here at Bethesda. I am in the parking lot though. I did not want to do this alone." Ziva said softly wiping a tear from her cheek.

"I'll be there Ziva. You're not doing this alone." Tony said.

"Thank you Tony."

"I love you." Tony answered.

Ziva felt her heart flutter. It was the first time he had said that to her all day. "I love you too Tony." Ziva said before she hung up the phone.

*NCIS*

"Abby, are you ok?" Karine asked. She was down in the lab with Abby since Gibbs didn't want to leave her alone and bored in the conference room. He had obviously informed the rest of the team about the crash, and like always, Abby did not hold back any of her emotions.

"Um, yeah I'm fine." Abby said sniffling.

"How come you're crying then?"

"I just got some bad news about your, I mean, I just got some bad news." Abby caught herself just in time. She nearly told Karine she had a niece.

"I'm sorry." Karine said patting Abby's hand. Her blue eyes were sympathetic.

"Thanks sweetie." Abby said. She then gave the little girl one of her famous bone-crushing hugs.

"Where's everyone else?" Karine asked once Abby released her.

"Oh um, Agent McGee is with Agent Gibbs and Tony and Ziva are…out." Abby answered.

"You're not a very good liar." Karine said with a smirk. "But I'll just pretend to believe you. Story of my life. No one tells me anything." She said the last couple of sentences with a dramatic tone.

"_Man, she is more like her brother than I thought! Aside from the looks she is all DiNozzo." _Abby thought.

"Abby, how does Ziva know my sister?" Karine asked after a couple minutes.

Abby's eyes widened. She never anticipated that this girl would ask so many questions. "Well um, they go way back." She finally answered. _"Geez Abigail, you really are a terrible liar."_ Abby thought while she mentally scolded herself.

"They do?" Karine asked suddenly curious.

"It's sort of…complicated though." Abby said trying to change the subject. Karine wouldn't give up though.

"Does Tony know my sister too?" Karine asked.

"Um…sure." Abby said quickly; too quickly as a matter of fact. Karine picked up on Abby's anxiousness.

"Were they close?" Karine asked suspiciously.

"Closer than you think." Abby mumbled.

"Huh?" Karine asked.

"I said um…my favorite color is pink." Abby said trying to change the subject.

"You like pink?" Karine said looking Abby up and down. "Well for a girl that's almost completely dressed in black, I highly doubt that."

"Just because it's my favorite doesn't mean I have to wear it all the time." Abby said defensively.

"Blue is my favorite color and I wear it all the time." Karine said matter-of-factly.

"Just like your brother." Abby mumbled.

"Huh?" Karine asked again.

"_Dang-it I gotta stop doing that!" _Abby thought scolding herself again. "I said it's not…I don't know what I said. I forgot. Hmm…are you hungry? I'm starving! I need a lunch break anyway." Abby was talking a mile a minute trying to change the subject.

"Lunch? Don't you mean dinner? It's already nighttime!" Karine said.

"Yeah dinner whatever. Wanna come join me?" Abby said gathering her things from her office.

"Yes! Food!" Karine said happily.

"Ok but you have to promise me one thing," Abby started. "No more questions about Tony, Ziva, or your sister. Got it?" Abby held out her pinky making Karine pinky swear on it.

Karine stared at her then finally linked her pinky around Abby's. "Fine. Only cos I'm starving!"

*NCIS*

Tony finally arrived at the Bethesda parking lot where Ziva was waiting for him. It only took Tony about eight minutes to get there, but to Ziva, it felt like eight hours. They walked side by side towards the Emergency entrance. With each step, Ziva could feel her heart growing heavier. As they entered the hospital, Ziva spotted a police officer waiting. Assuming it was Officer Stanley, she approached him right away.

"Are you Ziva David?" The officer asked.

"Yes. This is my," Ziva started.

"I'm Isabella's father. Can we go inside now?" Tony said very impatiently.

The officer motioned them inside and led them towards the Trauma center, where they were then greeted by Dr. Bowers.

"This is the family of car accident victims." Officer Stanley said.

"Hi. I'm Dr. Bowers." She said shaking Tony and Ziva's hands.

Ziva noticed the look in the doctors' eyes. It was a look that made her very uneasy. She could tell right away she was holding something back.

"Could you please just tell us if they're all right?" Tony said once again very impatiently.

"I think it's best if we talk some place more private." Dr. Bowers said leading them towards a waiting room. Once they were seated and the door was closed, she finally was able to tell them.

"I'm very, very sorry…we did everything we could but, we couldn't save her." Dr. Bowers said softly and sympathetically.

"Who? What? Couldn't save who?" Tony said angrily. He was shouting but he didn't realize it. Ziva was too stunned to even move.

"Rosalinda, the driver. She suffered massive head trauma and internal bleeding. By the time they got here to the hospital there wasn't much we could do."

"And Isabella?" Ziva asked softly. Great big tears were now falling down her cheeks. Tony looked like he was ready to kill someone.

"She's fine. She somehow escaped the crash untouched. She does have some cuts and bruises, but she did suffer a slight concussion. We're going to keep her overnight just to be safe. You may see her how if you would like. She's in room 105. I'll be back later to discuss some of the other matters." With that Dr. Bowers exited the room. That's when Ziva finally broke down. She put her face in her hands and began to cry.

"Hey Ziva, it's ok everything's going to be ok." Tony said pulling her into a hug.

"Rosie is dead Tony. She was only 20 years old. She was so young. She had her whole future ahead of her. How are we going to tell Bella or her aunt or her younger brothers and sisters?" Ziva said crying into Tony's chest.

"I don't know." Tony said softly.

"That could've easily been our daughter Tony." Ziva said.

"But it wasn't." Tony said taking Ziva's face in his hands and looking straight into her eyes. "Let's go see her now." Ziva nodded in agreement.

When they arrived in the room where Isabella was staying she was laying on her side, facing away from the doorway.

"Bella?" Ziva said walking slowly towards her daughter. At the sound of her name, Isabella turned around slowly.

"Mama." She said softly holding out her arms. Ziva knelt down and placed a great big kiss on Isabella's cheek before she hugged her back.

"Hey there kiddo." Tony said walking to the other side of the bed. He knelt down as well and placed a kiss on Bella's other cheek and patted her nose with his finger making her giggle ever so slightly, then sat at the foot of the bed.

"How are you feeling my love?" Ziva asked caressing Bella's cheek.

"Ok." Bella said softly. She wasn't in the best shape but it could've been worse. She had cuts and bruises in various places. Only a few deep cuts had stitches on them and she had a bandage on one side of her forehead where a really deep gash was. She was sore from the whiplash and had some marks from where the seatbelt was. The concussion had made her tired and whoozy as well.

"Rosie's dead isn't she." Isabella whispered. Her lower lip began to quiver.

Tony and Ziva gave eachother a look.

Ziva sighed and took a deep breath before she answered. "Yes."

Bella didn't say anything. She just let her tears fall down her cheeks. She then crawled over and placed herself in Tony's lap, burying herself in his chest. Tony hugged her back, wrapping his arms around his little girl protectively.

"I'm scared Daddy." Bella said sniffling.

"It's ok. You don't have to be scared anymore. I'm right here." Tony said trying to reassure her.

"You won't let him get me?" Bella asked looking up into her dad's emerald green eyes that they shared.

"Who my love?" Ziva asked, suddenly very suspicious.

"The man." Isabella said looking at her mom.

"What man?" Tony asked. He was very suspicious as well.

"The man that killed Rosie."

**A/N: Oh yeah I went there again ;] **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I know I'm terrible at updating. One minute I'm being good and keeping up with the story, and then the next, my professors decide to all overwhelm me with homework and studying, which means me having to abandon the story again. Midterms and not being able to shake an awful cold didn't help either. Story of my life! Anyway here is another chapter, which will answer only some of the craziness that's been happening. Another big thanks to all of y'all for sticking with me! :D**

**Disclaimer: Would I be really writing fanfiction if I owned them? I highly doubt it. **

Tony and Ziva were now in a state of shock. Their 7 year old daughter had just become a witness to a murder.

"What, what are you talking about my love?" Ziva asked.

"The man! He was there I heard him!" Isabella began to talk anxiously trying to tell her parents everything she knew, trying to remember every detail as possible so she could help catch the bad guy.

"What did you hear?" Tony asked softly but sternly.

"I heard his voice. It was so scary! I couldn't see him cos my eyes were blurry and my head hurt a lot but I heard him! And I heard Rosie too. She was crying and I heard him hitting her!" Isabella was now crying. She wrapped her arms around Tony and held on as tightly as she could.

"Shh it's ok Bella, I'm here. Daddy's here." Tony said softly. He caressed her long sandy curls and tried to soothe her as much as he could. She was so terrified that he could feel her trembling. Tony and Ziva shared another uneasy look.

"I will be right back." Ziva said walking down the hallway and to the front desk of the ER. "Where is Dr. Bowers? I need to speak with her now." She gave the nurse who was working a look that could only be described as deadly.

"Um, I don't know where she is right now ma'am. She's probably on her rounds." The young nurse looked frightened.

"Well, page her then." Ziva said slowly, gritting her teeth.

"Ma'am, I can only do that unless there's an emergency with one of the patients."

"I am a Federal Agent and I am investigating a case." Ziva said flashing her badge. The nurse just looked at her, not really sure what to do next. "The doctor…now." Ziva said with an even deadlier tone in her voice to match the look in her eyes.

The nurse swallowed slowly and nodded, and paged the doctor. After a few minutes Dr. Bowers rushed in.

"Hey Sally what's the problem?" She asked the nurse. Sally-the nurse-then pointed to Ziva who was standing in a very intimidating manner, waiting as patiently as she could.

"Um Doctor, this lady needed to ask you something." Sally was not comfortable at all.

"Oh you're the mother of the car accident victim. Listen, I'll get back with you on all the paperwork and the death certificate. I know this is a difficult time for your family but I can't talk about that just yet. The circumstances surrounding her death are very suspicious and I need a police officer there when he starts to question you and your husband and your daughter." Doctor Bowers was still clearly in a hurry.

"There is no need for the police Doctor. I am Special Agent Ziva David with NCIS," Ziva said flashing her badge. "So is my fiancé. He is in the room with our daughter. I had Sally here, page you so that I can ask you questions about the cause of death with the older passenger." Ziva was now in investigator mode. "I think it is best that we go to a more private room now Doctor."

Dr. Bowers nodded knowingly and led Ziva to an empty waiting room. The doctor spoke first. "Well I guess there is no easy way to say this Agent David, but Rosalinda was murdered. The accident report and the injuries she sustained do not match. Cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma to the head, probably from a baseball bat."

"Why were the other police forces not called to the scene?" Ziva asked.

"They responded to a car accident. They didn't think there would be any further investigation needed, that is until I noticed the injuries to her head. I notified the authorities not too long ago actually." Dr. Bowers said.

"NCIS will be conducting this investigation." Ziva said sternly. The doctor nodded and then asked Ziva if she needed to know anything else. Ziva said no for the moment, and with that the doctor left to the rest of her rounds and let her know that Isabella could go home the next day. Ziva stayed in the room to call Gibbs and let him know the rest of the news. Her voice shook with emotion as she told him about Rosie and how Isabella had been the one to witness everything.

"I do not know where to even begin with this Gibbs…" Ziva was almost on the verge of tears again.

"Ziver, all you need to do right now, is be there for your daughter and patch things up with DiNozzo. Leave the investigating to the rest of us for now." Gibbs was calm and understanding but firm at the same time.

"Thank you Gibbs." Ziva said wiping a small tear away. "Um, what about Karine? Where is she going to stay tonight?"

Gibbs gave a slight smirk. "Don't worry she's in good hands."

*NCIS*

"Oh yeah that's right. KidCarson ain't got nothing on this girl right here!" Karine was gloating with pride. She had just beat the highest score on a move trivia game. Karine and another player by the name of KidCarson had been going back and forth for 2 hours until finally, Karine had the last laugh.

"_This kid is getting more DiNozzo by the minute!" _Abby thought.

"No one's gonna be able to beat my score now huh Abby?" Karine said excitedly.

"Not even Spielberg himself could have done a better job." Abby said smiling. "Ok, enough movies for tonight time for bed."

"Where am I going to sleep? There is no way I am sleeping in a coffin!" Karine said. Gibbs had arranged for Karine to stay with Abby until they could get her whole situation figured out. She did not find the fact that Abby slept in a coffin very amusing though.

"Don't worry, the couch is a pull out." Abby said smiling.

"Thank goodness!" Karine said overdramatically. She went through her bags and got out all her necessities for the night. Once her jammies were on and her breath was minty fresh, she was ready for bed.

"All right little one, good night, sleep tight." Abby said shutting of the lights.

"Wait! Aren't you going to tuck me in or read me a bedtime story or something?" Karine asked.

"Um, is that what your mom usually does?" Abby asked.

"Well, sometimes, but think about it. I'm a 10 year old, alone in a city that I've never been in, and I'm spending the night at someone's house who I hardly even know…and you sleep in a coffin too. Sorry to say, but it kinda creeps me out a little." Karine said.

"_This is going to be a very interesting night." _Abby thought with a smirk.

*NCIS*

Ziva slowly walked back to the room where Isabella and Tony were after making one of the hardest calls of her life. She had just gotten off the phone with Rosie's aunt after giving her the news of her death. Ziva's heart broke for her aunt, especially knowing that her aunt still had to tell her younger brothers and sisters about the awful news.

When she finally arrived back into the room, Tony was lying in the bed with Isabella. She was snuggled up against him and they were watching a movie that had just started on Disney Channel. Ziva could tell both of their minds were elsewhere though. Nonetheless, it was still one of the most loving, and touching scenes in Ziva's mind. It reminded her of a picture she had snapped of the two of them that she kept in her phone. Isabella was about three years of age at that time and Tony and Ziva were enjoying a lazy Saturday at home. Bella and Tony decided they were going to have a Disney movie marathon that particular day. They were both lying on the couch and watching Beauty and the Beast. A certain part of the movie always made Isabella go into a fit of laughter. Hearing his daughter's adorable little giggle always made Tony laugh in return. Ziva had snapped the picture of her giggling husband and daughter on her phone at the perfect moment. Whenever she switched phones, she always made sure that particular picture was always on her memory card.

"Wanna switch?" Tony asked softly.

Ziva snapped out of her mini trance and barely noticed that Isabella was completely knocked out. "Sure." Ziva said taking Tony's place next to their daughter. Isabella stirred a little, situating herself next to Ziva and rested her head on her chest while she wrapped her little arm over Ziva's waist. Ever since Bella was a baby, she loved to lay on Ziva in that particular position. They often fell asleep together like that on their rocking chair, even as Bella got older. It made them both feel at ease and Tony noticed they would always get a dreamy look in their eyes. That same look came over Ziva in the hospital room, and Bella seemed to relax a little more.

"She looks so much like you when she's sleeping," Tony said smiling.

Ziva smirked playfully. "Well, the fact that she has no boundaries when it comes to personal space when she sleeps with me reminds me of you." Tony smiled knowingly. They were silent for a few more moments until Ziva finally spoke again.

"Tony, about what I said earlier…" Ziva started to talk but Tony cut her off.

"Ziva, it doesn't matter. If I was in your position I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing. I was hurt and mad, but thinking about almost losing Bella made me realize that you and her are the most important thing in the world to me and that every second I'm mad at you is just another second wasted." Tony was now kneeling on the side of the bed where Ziva was and looking straight into her great big chocolate brown eyes that were watering again.

"Thank you Tony." Ziva said softly. Tony bent down and placed a soft kiss on Ziva's lips which she returned. It was small, but there was so much passion and love behind that kiss. Ziva felt her heart flutter again.

"I love you Ziva."

"I love you too Tony."

**A/N: I'm not particularly too fond of this chapter just cos I feel it's kind of all over the place. I haven't been too focused on this story lately but I have not forgotten about it! I'm still trying to put together the best way to resolve everything and still contemplating bringing Jeanne back into the picture, even if it's only for a few brief moments. What do y'all think? Let me know! Anyhow, just letting y'all know it might be another while before I update just because of how hectic school has been lately and my intense bought of writers block :p Thanks again for sticking with me! I really appreciate it so very much! :D**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: ****Yes I'm back from the dead whoo hoo! I'm not even going to lie, I've just had some really intense writers block. I thought I would be able to finally update during my month long break from school for the holidays, but my mind was just completely blank. Now, after rereading the whole story about 5 times in the last few days, I have finally been able to come up with a new chapter yay! I think I'm going to keep things interesting for a while. ;)**

**Disclaimer: They were on my Christmas list but Santa gave me a big fat "no" on this one *sighs*. **

_She heard her screams and her cries. She could hear the sickening thuds of the baseball bat hitting her flesh. Her vision was quite blurred and all she could make out was a dark silhouette of a man. Though she could not see him, she could definitely hear him. His voice was surprisingly calm, low, and quite raspy. She would never forget his awful voice…_

Bella jolted up from her sleep. Over the last few days, she could not get more than a few hours of sleep at a time. She was so afraid to close her eyes. She had to be with one or both her parents at all times and would get really anxious when the other was away. She was excused from school for as long as she needed and was going to make up her work at home.

When she awoke from her sleep behind her mother's desk, Bella immediately noticed that neither of her parents were there. Gibbs and Tony were out in the field and McGee was down in the lab with Abby and Karine. Little did she know that Ziva had only tiptoed away for a second for a quick restroom break. She looked around for a few seconds and started to cry. Some of the other agents from the other teams looked around, not sure of what to do. Luckily, Ziva came back from the restroom just in time and ran to her daughter when she heard her soft cries.

"Ssh, ssh, there, there my love. It is ok, I am here now." Ziva said picking up Bella.

"Why did you leave me?" Bella asked in between cries.

"I had to go to the restroom for a few minutes. I was not far away my love. I am sorry, I will not leave you alone again ok?" Ziva said reassuringly. She dried Isabella's tears and placed a kiss to her forehead. Bella relaxed a little more and continued to wrap her arms around Ziva's neck. Ziva sat back down at her desk and proceeded to do her desk work. Actually, Ziva would rather take any break she could get. For the last few days, she had been working on funeral arrangements for Rosie and trying to take off as many responsibilities on her grief stricken aunt as possible. It seemed as if all of D.C was mourning the loss of Rosie. The press had gotten ahold of the story, and wanted to know every single detail. Thankfully, they only knew she had died in a tragic car accident and not the fact that she was murdered. Even the university where she attended was hit pretty hard when they found out. Apparently, Rosie was very well known. She was in a sorority, she was a part of the dance team, and she was an all-around great and lovely person who was a friend to everyone. Her friends from the dance team made a memorial for her at the crash site as well.

"Mama when's Daddy coming back?" Bella asked.

"I am not sure. Maybe in a little bit." Ziva answered. "Hey why don't you go downstairs with Aunt Abby for a little bit?" She had been trying to convince Bella to go down to the lab all day so she could actually stay focused on what she needed to do, no matter how much she hated it.

"Uh-uh." Bella said into Ziva's shoulder.

Ziva sighed. "How about if we just go and visit with her for a while?" She was hoping Bella would get distracted but she knew if she tried to leave, Bella would throw a fit and cling on to her for dear life. It didn't hurt to try though.

"I guess so." Bella answered. Ziva let out a huge sigh of relief.

As they went down to Abby's lab, they were greeted with laughter and giggles mainly coming from Karine and Abby. Karine was sitting on Abby's lap in the chair in her office while McGee stood behind them.

"Do you see this girl McGee? She has the highest score of all time on this game!" Abby said giving Karine a high five. Karine smiled a smile almost identical to Tony and Bella's. "Oh hey Bella! How are you? Wanna come play with me and Karine? It's a movie game."

Bella just stared at Karine. Karine smiled at Bella, but her smile slowly faded when she was gave her the evil eye in return. Who was this girl and why was she sitting on _her _Aunt Abby's lap? Ziva noticed the look of jealousy on her daughters face; they ALL noticed the look of jealousy on Bella's face.

"Yes, I wanna play." Bella said sternly. Abby's eyes widened a bit and she could feel Karine tense up a bit. Bella definitely inherited Ziva's intimidation tactics.

"Want me to get you a chair Bella?" McGee asked carefully.

"No, I'm going to sit on Aunt Abby's lap." Bella said not taking her eyes off Karine. "Scooch over," she said making room for herself on Abby's lap and not giving Karine a chance to move over.

"Whoa there Bella Boo, there's enough room to fit two munchkins on here ok?" Abby said trying to ease the tension that had suddenly filled the room.

"Isabella," Ziva said giving Bella a 'behave-yourself-or-else' look. Bella calmed down a bit, but she was still giving the Karine the 'stink eye'. "Well I guess I will go now and finish up on everything and leave Isabella here with you, if you don't mind Abby." Ziva said giving Abby a pleading look.

"Sure I don't mind the least bit." Abby said. She thought it would be rather interesting to see how the little DiNozzo's interacted with one another. Sooner or later, they were going to find out they were family. "Me and Timmy got it covered," she said quickly so McGee couldn't follow Ziva back up to the bullpen.

"Um, right, yeah we'll all be just fine. No tension whatsoever." McGee was suddenly nervous. He wasn't sure how the two little DiNozzo's were going to handle one another and he really didn't want to find out. But once again, he could not say no to Abby. Ziva said thank you one last time and headed back up to the squad room.

"Ok so who wants to play more of this movie trivia game?" Abby said excitedly trying to change to the subject.

"I do!" Bella said excitedly.

"Eh, I'm kinda bored of this game now Abby. Can we play something different? Maybe something that's actually challenging?" Karine said cockily.

"Scared I'll beat your score?" Bella said calmly turning her head slowly to look at Karine.

McGee and Abby's eyes widened. "Why don't we play a nice calm game of," McGee started but was cut off by Karine.

"Not a chance." She said haughtily.

"Is that a challenge?" Bella asked slowly narrowing her eyes at Karine.

"As a matter of fact it is! Bring it on Squirt!" Karine said.

"Oh don't you worry I'll bring it!"

McGee turned pale and Abby looked like she wanted to rip out her ponytails. This could definitely get ugly.

*NCIS*

"Damnit! That's the 10th time I've tried today!" Tony was literally on the verge of throwing his cell phone out the passenger car window. Once he had cleared the air with Ziva, he had been trying nonstop to try and get ahold of DiNozzo Sr. with absolutely no luck.

"Still no luck there DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked calmly.

"No! That's just so like him. He shows up when you least expect it, but when you really need him, he drops off the face of the earth."

"We'll find him Tony." Gibbs said.

Tony sighed. "In the meantime, what the hell am I going to do about Karine? I mean she obviously knows there's something not quite right about this entire situation, she's not stupid she's a smart kid."

"Yeah she is. She's a lot like you." Gibbs said taking a sip of his coffee.

"I don't know what to do here Boss." Tony said rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"Tell her the truth DiNozzo. She needs her big brother right now."

"I don't know what's scarier, being a father or a big brother."

"Both." Gibbs said. "But you'll figure it out, you always do."

*NCIS*

"Abigail, are you sure leaving Karine and Isabella alone in your lab was the brightest idea?" Ducky asked. Abby had gone down to autopsy to get more samples from Rosie's body from Ducky and couldn't take the two little ones with her. McGee couldn't stay with them either since Ziva needed help working the case, and he was getting really behind on his paperwork.

"Oh Ducky they'll be fine. I mean what could happen in 5 minutes?" Abby said trying to be optimistic.

"Well actually with the gene pool on those two, anything could happen really." Palmer said. Once again, he said the wrong the thing at the wrong time.

"Not helping Mr. Palmer." Ducky said sternly.

"Ohmygosh you're right! I better get up there now!" Abby said grabbing the sample cup from Ducky, running as fast as her platforms let her.

When she arrived back in her lab her worst fears were confirmed.

"OW OW OW OK I TAKE IT BACK!"

Isabella had Karine pinned to the floor and was sitting on her back with one hand holding Karine's arms behind her while the other was keeping her head down sideways on the ground. Just their luck, Ziva had walked right in the lab a few seconds after Abby and witnessed the entire scenario play out as well.

"ISABELLA NOEL DINOZZO! Get off of her now!" Ziva exclaimed.

"Oh yay Ziva! Get this crazy child off me! She's insane! She's like one of those robot kids from Spy Kids! You think they're normal, but they're really not and they can kill you!" Karine tended to quote and play out movie scenarios in times of great stress.

"AM NOT!" Bella shouted.

"ARE TOO!" Karine shouted back.

After about 5 minutes, Ziva and Abby managed to pull and keep the two little girls away from one another and calm them down.

"Isabella, apologize to her now." Ziva said sternly.

"But Mama she started it! She called me a Weenie Head just cos I beat her in the movie game!"

"Yeah cos you cheated!" Karine said sticking her tongue out at Bella.

"Did not!"

"Did too!" Bella said lunging at Karine, but Ziva caught her just in time.

Karine hid behind Abby, covering herself with her lab coat.

"I think it is best that Isabella and I leave now. She will have time to think about her behavior while she sits at her father's desk in time-out." Ziva said to Abby.

"Aw come on that's not fair!" Bella said stamping her foot.

"We are leaving, NOW!" Ziva said pointing towards the door.

Bella pouted, crossed her arms, and marched back up the bullpen with her mother.

"Is that Isabella kid some kind of ninja or something? She got a pretty good grip on me." Karine said.

Abby chuckled. "Something like that. Are you ok there Sweetie?"

"Yeah I'm fine. " Karine said smoothly.

"Once she cools off, you're both going to have to apologize to each other. I know Bella can get pretty feisty at times, but she doesn't just pin people to the ground out of nowhere." Abby said sternly.

"Ugh. Do I have to?"

"Yes, you're family after all." Abby blurted out. Once she realized what she said, she cupped her hands over mouth and mentally kicked herself. _'You and your awful mouth Abigail! Why why WHY?' _

Karine's blue eyes turned to saucers. Little did she know, that was only the beginning of what was to come.

**A/N: I thought it was only fair that I made this chapter longer than normal (I think) since I left y'all hanging for such a long time. I thought I would make this chapter more humorous and light since the last few have been kind of sad and gloomy. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up by next week! Thanks again for keeping with the story for the millionth time! Y'all are great :D **


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